Northeast volleyball grabs first win at RKP Invite

BEATRICE, Neb. – The No. 11 Northeast Community College volleyball team competed in the competitive RKP Invite on Friday and Saturday in Beatrice, Neb.

The Hawks (1-3) fell to No. 7 Highland Community College 19-25, 21-25 and 21-25 and Barton Community College 21-25, 20-25 and 27-29 on Friday.

On Saturday, Northeast opened with Cloud County Community College, falling four sets, 25-23, 18-25, 12-25 and 17-25, before picking up its first win over Southeast Community College, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-23.

Against Highland, Elley Beaver (Columbus, Neb.) led the Hawks with eight kills. MaKayla Davidson (Alliance, Neb.) added 22 assists and nine digs, while Josie Sanger (Crofton, Neb.) had 16 digs. Caitlin Kumm (Osmond, Neb.) pitched in 13 digs.

In the loss to Barton, Brianna Bauer (O'Neill, Neb.) and Hannah Heppner (Stanton, Neb.) each tallied eight kills, while Beaver had seven. Sanger notched 28 digs and freshman Jamie Bonifas (Blue Hill, Neb.) had 12 assists.

On Saturday in the loss to Cloud County, Carly Hirsch (Norfolk, Neb.) had nine kills and Davidson pitched in 12 assists. Sanger recorded 22 digs in the back row for the Hawks.

In the win over Southeast, Heppner tallied 13 kills, Davidson had 25 assists and Kumm added 22 digs.

The Hawks return to the court on Wednesday for their home opener against Highway 81-rival Central Community College at 7 p.m. at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk.

For all news related to Northeast Community College athletics, visit northeasthawks.com for complete coverage. Fans can also follow the Hawks on Twitter @NortheastHawks for game-day coverage.