Broncos Rally to Win 5-Setter over Ottawa
(Hastings, NE) – The Broncos made quite the home entrance to the 2025 season in the first match of the Hastings College Classic, coming back from a 2-1 set deficit to topple the Ottawa Braves 15-13 in the final set (25-20, 22-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-13).
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
20 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 13 | 2 |
|
|
25 | 22 | 20 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Team Stats
Ottawa
| Game Statistics | Ottawa | Hastings |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .114 | .136 |
| Blocks | 9.0 | 7.0 |
| Digs | 78 | 76 |
| Aces | 3 | 11 |
(Hastings, NE) – The Broncos made quite the home entrance to the 2025 season in the first match of the Hastings College Classic, coming back from a 2-1 set deficit to topple the Ottawa Braves 15-13 in the final set (25-20, 22-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-13).
Hastings came to play early, going up 7-3 with a couple kills from junior Ilse Benne. Leading 9-7, they won five straight and six of the next seven points to go up 15-8, led by the combo of senior Alexis Pontine and sophomore Makenna Sutter. The Braves roared back to only trail 19-17, but Hastings closed the set strong, finishing with a kill from Sutter to win, 25-20.
Three kills early on in the second set by sophomore Mikah O'Neill put Hastings ahead 5-2, but Ottawa answered back, winning four straight, and later going up 13-8. The Broncos got kills on five of the next six points, including two by O'Neil, trimming the deficit to one at 14-13. Trailing 15-14, the Broncos committed multiple errors, resulting in Ottawa taking a 21-14 lead. A furious rally brought things even at 22, but two Ottawa kills and a Bronco attacking error gave the Braves the second set, 25-22.
The third set belonged to the Braves, taking the set 25-20. After dropping the first two points, Ottawa rattled off five straight and 15 of the next 20 points to go up 15-7. They built their lead up to as much as 10 at 22-12, but the Broncos would not go away and put some pressure on the Braves to close out the set led by two kills from Sutter. They got within three at 23-20 before the Braves finished out the third set, 25-20.
Hastings flipped the script in a big way to open set four thanks to a couple early kills by Benne and sophomore Kaleah Olson. They later jumped out to a 9-6 lead after a freshman connection kill by Klarissa Dowdy from Fran Warson, then with Ottawa trailing 10-9, Hastings started to pull away in the set. Sutter delivered three kills and Pontine had five assists during the stretch that saw the Bronco lead balloon to ten at 20-10, capped by an ace from junior Madison Navarrete.
The Braves were able to get a bit closer later in the fourth set, but two Benne kills and an Ottawa service error made it 23-15. Sophomore Lainey Benson closed out the set, 25-20, with back-to-back aces. Benne led the team with five kills in the set, followed by four from Sutter. Pontine added eight assists for Hastings to set up the deciding set.
O'Neill was responsible for three of their first four points of the fifth set with two kills and an ace to put Hastings ahead 4-2. Both teams continued to battle and Sutter led the Broncos with three huge kills over the next few points, the last one tying it up at 10. Neither team was able to gain a two-point lead again until Ottawa went up 12-10 on a Bronco error.
After a Bronco timeout, Pontine scored on a surprise attack and after a kill from Ottawa, Pontine frond Olson for a kill to for an Ottawa timeout at 13-12. Benne tied it up on the next point with a kill and a Brave error on the next point gave Hastings a 14-13 lead and a match point opportunity. Following an Ottawa timeout, Warson delivered a clutch serve that was too difficult for the Ottawa backline to handle, giving the Broncos the 15-13 deciding set victory. Hastings out-hit the Braves in the fifth set, .400 to .333.
Sutter led Hastings in kills with a game-high of 16, along with 13 from O'Neill and 11 from Benne. Pontine finished with 27 assists and Warson also had 24. Benson had a team-high 19 digs and recorded four aces, while sophomore Hailey Whitmarsh and O'Neill had 14 and 10 digs, respectively. Dowdy contributed with a team-high five blocks and junior Camryn Ringsdorf added three blocks.
Up next, Hastings will host Kansas Wesleyan tomorrow at 5:30pm in the final game of the 2025 Hastings College Classic.
