Box Score The Highland volleyball team was heading into a crucial conference match-up against the #18 Johnson County Cavaliers off a tough 1-3 weekend in Iowa.

The Scotties worked for a lead to start the first set with a dominating offensive performance by sophomore right side Koie Orozco who put down eight kills from setter Katie Pearson, "I was really impressed with Katie. She established Koie on the right side early, and i'm not sure Johnson was ready for that. Koie ended up with a career high 15 kills," commented Head Coach Jon Bingesser. The Cavaliers put up a fight to close the gap late but the Scotties overcame with scrappy defense led by Kirsten Johnson and Leslie Polanco and took the first set 26-24.

The momentum carried in to the 2nd set with a block by Orozco and Zealia Kleitz to start things off. Emma Cohalla and Polanco put down nine of the teams 12 kills to finish the set 25-17. "The girls had business on their minds and it was great to see everyone execute the way we did."

The Cavaliers did not let up easy working to defend their home court in set three. The Scotties found themselves down 1-12 but with a high defensive team effort of 18 digs they worked to close the gap but could not get the job done and lost 16-25.

HCC put on a showcase in the fourth set with a high powered offense led by Polanco (4) and Orozco (5) and the defense proved their worth yet again all across the board with a team 18 digs to take the set and match 25-17. "Kirsten, Mallory Wagner, and Leslie had a great night defensively. Kirsten and Leslie both had over 20 a piece and Mallory made some big plays at tough times."

"Watching the team play was a lot of fun. Z and Emma did great too. They each had some key blocks and were still able to do some damage on the offense' even with Johnson's triple block. This was a really good win for Highland volleyball. It puts us one step closer to where we need to be come districts and it's always nice to get a big win over a traditional powerhouse like Johnson County."

Sophomore Leslie Polanco came up with her 20th double-double of the season with 19 kills ad 21 digs. She has surpassed 500 digs this season with 507. Orozco had a career high 15 kills and eight digs on the night while Pearson dished out 46 assists. Johnson had another big defensive game with 23 digs and the team had a hitting percentage of .203.

Highland will travel to Iowa Central CC in Fort Dodge, IA to take on their last tournament of the season. They will face DMACC, Cal Sandburg College, North Iowa Area CC, and Iowa Lakes CC on Oct. 20 and 21st. They are now 25-10 overall and 6-2 in conference play.