HU Opens Up Season at ONSET Invitational

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Opening day saw the Forester volleyball team go 0-2 at the Allen War Memorial Coliseum on Friday afternoon as part of the ONSET Invitational hosted by Saint Francis.

"We went into today knowing we were going to look at multiple line-ups," said Coach Kelsey Herber. "While that can be challenging, we are looking for players with a competitive edge to rise to the occasion with the opportunities given.

"We had humbling moments today that displayed our need for continued skill development in the gym. However, we also saw glimmers of greatness and the team we can and will be."

Up against a talented #RV IU South Bend squad to kick off the year, the Foresters couldn't recover from a slow start to suffer a 3-1 loss (25-15, 25-19, 17-25, 25-16). Down 0-2, HU ripped off the first three points in the third set to gain a confidence and lead that they rode out for their first set victory of the season.

The set proved Huntington's most efficient offensive showing of the day as evidenced by collecting 14 kills against just three hitting errors on the way to logging a .297 kill percentage as a team. Unfortunately the Titans, who earned a spot at the national tournament last season, found their groove again in set four (25-16) to wrap up the win.

In her debut as a Forester, freshman Haley Kruse went off for a team-high 12 kills to pace Huntington offensively. She also finished with six digs. Seniors Tya Bynum and De'Janea Johnson were also active at the net to finish with six kills apiece.

Kendyll Gebert and Morgan Robrock split setting responsibilities to tally 12 and ten assists respectively. Layla Meyer protected the backline by digging up 12 balls.

The Foresters came out strong against IU East later in the day but eventually succumbed to the Red Wolves 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22). The first set finally broke for HU after they pieced together a late 7-1 run that turned a three-point deficit of 21-18 into a three-point win. Success for Herber's crew was rooted in combining a solid offensive outing while taking advantage of 12 IUE hitting errors.

The RedHawks righted their wrong after that by reeling off the next three wins to send HU home with the loss. Kortney Grimm stepped up to lead her team with 11 kills while Kruse and Mariah Milledge each collected six.

Robrock orchestrated the offense by doling out 25 assists while Meyer and Kruse took charge defensively with eight digs apiece.

"We have three areas of focus for tomorrow: communicate consistently, adjust our defense to cover more surface area of the court and watch the ball into our platform on first ball contact," noted Herber. "We don't need hours in the gym to make these changes. We can simply make the decision to be better in these areas tomorrow."

HU (0-2) is back in action at the Coliseum first thing in the morning to take on Siena Heights at 9:00 a.m. after which they'll match up with Mount Mercy at 3:00 p.m.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 17 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 125 NAIA All-America honors and 449 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Reportranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.