The Hillcrest Academy volleyball team dropped their 2019 home opener to visiting Louisa-Muscatine Tuesday night in Kalona. The Falcons won the match in straight sets by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-13. Yani Gutierrez, Esther Hughes and Danae McGaffey each had four kills. Gutierrez had 10 assists and Norah Yoder led the way with six digs. The Ravens were without Mia Graber much of the night who suffered an apparent knee injury in the first set of the match. After the match head coach Tanna Boshart talked about what she liked from her team. “This is a team that doesn’t give up. I know that. At times they are still buying into that. We played hard, the effort is there, it’s the skill level and understanding that isn’t quite there. We can teach that. It’s a lot harder to teach effort.”

With the loss, Hillcrest Academy is now 0-8 on the season and will next be in action Thursday at Mediapolis.