News, Sports and Opinion from Hastings College
Video by: Ross Struss/HC Media
By: Lauren Sawyer and Dan Miller
Students packed into the bleachers tonight for the final men’s basketball home game at Lynn Farrell arena. The HC Broncos took on the GPAC last place-ranked Concordia Bulldogs.
Students cheered in an array of sweater vests to support Coach Lance Creech in his final home game before retirement. Creech has coached 11 seasons at HC and was the GPAC Coach of the Year in 2010.
Hastings College junior Shayna Schacher (15) and senior Kendra Schwein (10) try to block a ball in the 3rd set of their match against Embry-Riddle in pool play of the national tournament. Photo by Nick Buth.
Story & Video by Kirk Orndorff; Photos by Nick Buth
Hastings College entered pool play at the NAIA National Volleyball Tournament as the #8 team in the country. The other teams in their pool were #5 Embry-Riddle, #18 MidAmerica Nazarene, and #23 Bellevue University. [Read more...]
By Dan Miller
By Allyson Pelchat
When HC women’s volleyball beat then-ranked No. 11 Doane at home earlier this month, all eyes were on them. The Broncos almost immediately jumped into the top ten and are now ranked at No. 7 after a consistent winning streak, most recently against GPAC rival Northwestern College at home last Saturday.
“We have some experienced players and some good athletes and we are making good decisions on the court,” said Matt Buttermore, HC head volleyball coach. “There were some early tests and if we passed those tests I thought we would be a good team; and so we passed most of them and the girls have a lot of confidence now, so we will continue to be a good team.”
There’s no doubt that leadership has helped to turn the team into the powerhouse it has recently become. Three captains lead the Broncos: senior Hayley Beardsley, junior Shayna Schacher and senior Kendra Schwein. Seniors Carissa Kinne and Kirsten Nickel also help set goals for the team and lead by example on the court.
Leading players really stepped up at the beginning of the month, as demonstrated when Kendra Schwein was named NAIA volleyball player of the week on Sept. 11. Schwein was selected based on her performance in the first week of September in which she posted 65 kills, 29 digs and a .247 attack percentage in the four matches the Broncos played.
“I’m not surprised,” Buttermore said. “She has a lot of physical ability. She is an aggressive player and a tough competitor and she wants to win everything she does. She scores a lot of points and it’s a testament to her hard work and her dedication that she was honored in that way.”
The Broncos’ next challenge is their five upcoming games against GPAC competition. This includes top 25 teams in No. 21 Midland on Oct. 3 and No. 14 Doane on Oct. 9.
“It’s a tough conference, so it makes it fun. We have to prepare for every match in regards to who we are playing,” Buttermore said. “That makes it exciting and I enjoy the challenge. It makes it worthwhile to have good teams to play.”
The Broncos travel to Sioux City, IA to take on Briar Cliff University this Saturday. Their next home game is against Morningside College Oct. 6 at 4:30 p.m.
While the PGA Masters Championships may be the ultimate tournament in professional golf, HC played in its own version as the GPAC qualifiers took place this last week. [Read more...]
On February 18, the Morningside Mustangs beat the Hastings College Bronco Men’s Basketball Team 76-69 in what proved to be a game of almost constant scoring.
The first half began slowly for the Broncos, a contrast from the women who came on the court on fire. The Broncos managed to score only one point against the Mustangs’ eight in the first minutes, but luck began to change when freshman Alex Thayer scored the first three point shot of the game.
Senior Jake Marvin kept the momentum going by scoring five points in the next few minutes. Scores by Marvin, Dylan Flynn, and Tobin Reinwald left the score tied at 18 in the middle of the first half.
The Broncos managed to maintain an average two point lead until the end of the first half, leaving the score at 36-32 Mustangs.
The second half was more promising with Dylann Flynn scoring two points in the first few seconds. Only about a minute in, Brady Lollman successfully tried for a three pointer after a pass from senior Trevor Halbmeier.
With ten minutes on the clock, though, the Broncos followed the Mustangs 60-50. Dane Bacon and Marvin each successfully tried the three point shot and plenty of thoughtful passing left the Broncos following close at 68-65 with two minutes left. The game concluded with the Broncos losing 76-69.
The HC women’s basketball team faced off against No. 4 Morningside College today in Lynn Farrell Arena, with the Broncos winning 69-42. The Broncos maintained over a 15-point lead for the majority of the game.
The Lady Broncos left the first half with a 24-point lead over the Morningside Mustangs, 40-16. At the half, senior forward Courtney Spawn led the team in points with 11, nine of those points from 3-point shots.
The Lady Broncos began the game with an early pull away. With 10 minutes to go in the first half, the Broncos led 20-5.
The Mustangs had trouble keeping up with the outside-shooting game. Most of their shots fell short of the basket. The Lady Broncos recovered rebounds and retaliated by scoring points.
After the game, the Broncos honored seniors Spawn, Sophia McDermott and Alicia Statler with a gift of flowers and balloons out on center court as a thank you for their hard work and contributions to the team.
The Broncos will next play Briar Cliff in the GPAC Tournament on Feb. 22 in Sioux City.
On Jan. 17, the HC men’s soccer team took another monumental step in the progression to establishing themselves as one of NAIA’s most elite soccer programs.
Coming off the heels of a record breaking 39- game winning streak and going to two straight NAIA national titles, senior Nate Polak became the first ever player from the GPAC conference to be drafted by a Major League Soccer program. [Read more...]
