The second-ranked Hinton volleyball team swept No. 8 Aplington-Parkersburg (25-14, 25-13, 25-16) to advance to the state semifinals for the second year in a row.
Hinton jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first set that set the tone for what was to come the rest of the match. Hinton co-head coach Kate Ortegren says the energy they came out with was high.
The Blackhawk offense wasted no time getting started with 17 kills with just three errors on 30 swings hitting a .467 efficiency in the first set. Sophomore Bailey Boeve led the offensive attack with 16 kills but says the Hinton offense is so good due to having many weapons to utilize.
Ashlyn Kovarna dished out 30 assists in facilitating the potent Hinton offense. Trust is the key, says Kovarna, to being on the same page with everyone.
Coach Ortegren says that trust paired with some outstanding talents make the Blackhawks one of the toughest teams to stop.
Kovarna also recorded five kills to go along with nine digs. Boeve says her ability to be a playmaker is a huge weapon that the Blackhawks utilize well.
On the defensive side, Hinton’s block came up big with eight Falcon attacks getting snuffed out. Coach Ortegren says they knew how to defend against the Falcon attack, and they were successful in doing that right off the start.
The Blackhawk seniors are a group that has been playing together for a long time and is on one more ride together at state. Kovarna says she does not want that ride to end until they hoist the state championship trophy.
To continue their run, Coach Ortegren says Hinton needs to continue to keep nerves down, so they are doing the fundamentals well.
Hinton will take on Grundy Center in the semifinal round at 4:25 PM on Wednesday. KLEM Radio will broadcast the game with pregame coverage starting at 4:10 PM.
