The Owls have gotten deep into their Little Eight Conference season schedule and picked up two wins in three conference games last week. The team started off at home against Ortonville and swept the Trojans 3-0 Sept. 14. The very next day, Hancock was at home against Brandon-Evansville and earned their fifth win to start the season in four sets of action. Hancock wrapped up the week on the road against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy Sept. 17 in Fergus Falls and were swept 3-0 to fall to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference.

Hancock 3

Ortonville 0

The Owls picked up their second sweep of the season with a 3-0 win over the Ortonville Trojans at home to improve to 4-0.

The Owls took control of the match in the first set with a 25-19 win and dominated the second set 25-10 to go up 2-0. The Trojans did everything they could to stay alive in the third set, but Hancock finished off the sweep with a 26-24 win in the third. 

Mariah Hoberg was the only Owl to finish with more than three kills, racking up 10. Taylor Nesvig led the team with 14 set assists. 

At the service line, Hancock finished with 19 total ace serves. Margaret Bretz led the team with four aces and Hoberg, Haylee Flaten and Mishayla Mattson all added three. 

On the defensive side, Hoberg led the team with 14 digs, Nesvig added nine and Mattson dug out eight. 

Hancock 25 25 26 – 3

Ortonville 19 10 24 – 0

Serving (aces) – Margaret Bretz-4, Mariah Hoberg-3, Haylee Flaten-3, Mishayla Mattson-3, Taylor Nesvig-2, Abigail Boon-2, Margaret Bretz-2; Set Assists – Nesvig-14, Mattson-3, Boon-1, Sophia Nagler-1, Tessie Sproul-1; Hitting (kills) – Hoberg-10, Mattson-3, Nesvig-2, Boon-2, Bretz-2, Sproul-1; Blocks – N/A; Digs – Hoberg-14, Nesvig-9, Mattson-8, Bretz-4, Nagler-3, Flaten-1, Boon-1, Sproul-1

Hancock 3

Brandon-Evansville 1

Hancock added their fifth straight win to start the season with their second Little Eight Conference win against Brandon-Evansville at home in four sets. 

Brandon-Evansville started the match off with a narrow 25-23 win in the first set to take an early lead. Hancock came back with a two-point win of their own in the second set to tie it up. The Owls then exploded for a 25-11 win in the third and finished off the match with a 25-18 win in the fourth to seal the 3-1 win.

Hoberg and Mattson combined to have 32 kills with Hoberg leading the way with 17. Nesvig set up the majority of those kills, leading the team with 35 set assists. 

Hoberg and Flaten led the team with three ace serves and Sophia Nagler added two. 

On defense, Hoberg also led the team in digs with 12 and Mattson added eight. 

Hancock 23 25 25 25 – 3

B-E 25 23 11 18 – 1

Serving (aces) – Mariah Hoberg-3, Haylee Flaten-3, Sophia Nagler-2, Mishayla Mattson-1, Taylor Nesvig-1, Abigail Boon-1; Set Assists – Nesvig-35, Mattson-4, Hoberg-2, Flaten-1; Hitting (kills) – Hoberg-17, Mattson-15, Boon-6, Nesvig-3, Flaten-1, Sproul-1; Blocks – N/A; Digs – Hoberg-12, Mattson-8, Nesvig-4, Boon-3, Nagler-2, Flaten-1

HLA 3

Hancock 0

After five straight wins to start the season, Hancock ran into their hiccup of the season on the road against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, getting swept by the Comets 3-0.

The Owls most competitive set of the night came in the first, but the Comets earned the 25-21 win. HLA got better as the night progressed, winning the second set 25-13 and completing the sweep with a 25-10 win in the third.

As a team, Hancock finished with just 25 total kills with 13 of them coming from Hoberg. Nesvig set up all but seven of those kills, leading the team with 18 set assists. 

Mattson and Boon led the team at the service line with two aces apiece and Nesvig chipped in with one. 

On the defensive side, Mattson was the only Owl to finish with double-digit digs, recording 10. Hoberg added seven digs and Margaret Bretz dug out six. 

The Owls did compete in the Hawley Tournament Sept. 19 and also hosted Dawson-Boyd in Hancock for senior night Sept. 21 and Battle Lake will be in town Sept. 22.

HLA 25 25 25 – 3

Hancock 21 13 10 – 0

Serving (aces) – Mishayla Mattson-2, Abigail Boon-2, Taylor Nesvig-1; Set Assists – Taylor Nesvig-18, Mattson-1, Mariah Hoberg-1, Haylee Flaten-1, Boon-1, Sophia Nagler-1; Hitting (kills) – Hoberg-13, Nesvig-5, Mattson-4, Boon-3, Margaret Bretz-2; Blocks – N/A; Digs – Mattson-10, Hoberg-7, Bretz-6, Nesvig-4, Flaten-4, Boon-3, Nagler-2