By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek volleyball team opened the 2003 season by dropping a five-game match in Lake Benton Tuesday.H-BC made its debut without standout hitter Erin Boeve, who missed the match with the flu.The Patriots who were on hand for the match impressed H-BC coach Curt Doorneweerd with their play."I hate losing. But, since it was our first match of the year, I was quite pleased with the way we played," he said. "The girls could have given up after we lost the third game, but they battled back and nearly won it in five," he said.The Patriots notched a 25-20 win in the opener before dropping 25-18 and 25-15 decisions in Games 2 and 3 respectively.H-BC forced a fifth game with a 25-16 victory in Game 4, but the Bobcats pulled out a thrilling 15-13 win in the finale.Cassi Tilstra (five blocks, 11 kills and 16 of 16 serving with one ace), Kelly Mulder (seven blocks, 12 kills and 21 of 23 serving with two aces) and Amanda Olson (two blocks, six kills and 13 of 15 serving with two aces) turned in solid, all-around performances for H-BC.Melissa Sandstede (five kills), Ashley Bosch (two kills and one ace serve) and Alissa Hoyme (eight of nine serving) also helped the cause.The 0-1 Patriots host Red Rock Central Sept. 4.
