08/24/2026
Highland Opens Season With Two Sweeps on Friday; 1-1 on Saturday
Highland Community College opened its 2026 women's volleyball season with a strong showing Friday, earning back-to-back 3-0 victories over Pima Community College and Waubonsee Community College at the country’s largest 2-year college tourney, Opening Weekend Tournament in Rockford, IL.
Pima CC Match
The Scotties began the day with a hard-fought sweep of Pima, winning 25-23, 28-26 and 25-21 before returning to the court for a more dominant performance against Waubonsee, 25-11, 25-21 and 25-14.
Against Pima, Highland had to battle for every point. The Scotties hit .204 as a team compared with .134 for Pima and held an advantage in blocks. Highland also committed 14 fewer errors, 31-45, while the teams finished even with 51 digs apiece.
Tailyn Kadavy led Highland's attack against Pima with a .364 hitting percentage, while Addison Schwinn hit .385 with 1.50 blocks. Paige Heiman anchored the Scotties at the net with a team-best 3 blocks.
Cali Honeyman delivered an all-around performance, hitting .297, serving three aces and posting nine digs. Daynica Euwer led the Scotties in serve receive accuracy.
Highland and Pima each recorded eight aces.
Highland's ability to close out tight sets proved decisive. After taking the opening set 25-23, the Scotties survived an extra-point battle in the second set, 28-26, before finishing the sweep with a 25-21 victory in the third.
Waubonsee CC Match
The Scotties then carried that momentum into their second match of the day against Waubonsee. Highland controlled the match from the opening serve, winning 25-11, 25-21 and 25-14. The Scotties finished with a .258 hitting percentage, well ahead of Waubonsee's .037 mark. The Scotties also held a significant advantage in assists, 35-15, while producing 13 service aces to Waubonsee's two and recording 42 digs.
Honeyman led Highland's attack against Waubonsee with a .500 hitting percentage and three aces. Heiman also hit .500, while Kadavy hit .333. Aubrey Kesler provided a strong offensive performance, hitting .250. Euwer notched 7 digs, while Hallie Holthaus contributed 10 digs. Highland's serving created another major advantage against Waubonsee. The team also received solid contributions from Addison Schwinn, Miranda Rieger, Bella Ah-Mu and Heiman.
The contrast between Highland's two matches highlighted the team's versatility. Against Pima, the Scotties had to execute in several close sets, while against Waubonsee they established control early and maintained it throughout the match.
By the end of the day, Highland had swept both opponents, winning all six sets. The Scotties combined efficient hitting, strong serving, consistent defense and an effective blocking presence to open the season 2-0.
Illinois Central CC Match
The two victories provide Highland with an impressive start to the 2026 season and plenty of momentum heading into Saturday.
The Scotties continued play at opening weekend of the 2026 season Saturday morning with their third match of the tournament, taking on Illinois Central Community College. After two matches on Friday, the Scotties faced another strong opponent early Saturday and battled throughout the three-set match before falling 0-3.
Illinois Central took the opening set 25-12, but the Scotties responded with one of their strongest stretches of the weekend in the second set. Highland stayed within striking distance and pushed ICC all the way to the end before dropping the set 23-25. The Scotties continued to fight in the third set, ultimately falling 18-25.
The match gave the Scotties another opportunity to gain experience playing together under tournament conditions and provided plenty of individual highlights.
At the net, Honeyman had 7 kills followed by Heiman’s 5 and Schwinn’s 4. Holthaus continued to make an impact as the team's setter, recording 18 assists, accounting for the majority of Highland's 21 assists. She also contributed nine digs defensively.
In the back row, Daynica Euwer led the Scotties with 12 digs, while Cali Honeyman added eight. Honeyman also handled a significant portion of Highland's serve receive, recording 18 receptions. Cami Dalinghaus contributed nine digs and six receptions, helping the Scotties battle through Illinois Central's serving pressure.
Serving was one of the brighter areas of the match for Highland. Euwer was especially effective from the service line, going 12-for-12 with two aces. Hyde also recorded two aces.
The match also provided opportunities for contributions throughout the roster, with Miranda Rieger, Addison Schwinn, Bella Ah-Mu, Paige Heiman, Molly Williams, Harlee Blackwell, Aubrey Kesler and Tailyn Kadavy all seeing action during the match.
Lake Region CC Match
The Highland Scotties wrapped up the opening weekend of the season at the Rockford tournament with their fourth and final match of the weekend against Lake Region State College. After three matches of learning, adjusting and building chemistry, the Scotties came out ready to finish the weekend strong.
The team continued to show improvement in several areas, particularly from the service line. Cali Honeyman led the way with seven aces, while the Scotties collectively put pressure on Lake Region with aggressive serving throughout the match.
Offensively, Harlee Blackwell had an impressive performance, finishing with a .625 hitting percentage. Addison Schwinn (.250) and Paige Heiman (.222) also contributed offensively. The Scotties recorded 16 kills while continuing to work on putting themselves in position to score.
Defensively, the team battled for 13 digs from Daynica Euwer, while Molly Williams and Hallie Holthaus added six digs apiece.
Most importantly, the final match gave the Scotties one more opportunity to compete together, make adjustments and learn from a long opening weekend.
Four matches in one weekend is a lot of volleyball for a young team, but the Scotties are already seeing the benefits of being pushed early. The opening weekend at Rockford gave this team plenty to build on as they head back to the gym and continue putting the pieces together.
Opening weekend: complete. Scotties are 3-1 on the season. The work continues.
Catch the Scotties in their home opener this Wednesday, August 26 in Ben Allen Field House at 5:30 PM against Southeast Community College.
