By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek stepped out of the Red Rock Conference to post a volleyball win on the road Monday.
Taking on the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights in Tyler, the Patriots ended a stretch of playing eight of nine matches against RRC foes.
The way things turned out in Tyler, H-BC appreciated playing a match with fewer implications.
The Patriots snapped a tie at one by winning the third and fourth games while posting a 3-1 victory.
"The girls really played well," said Patriot coach Nicole Fey. "We've really been coming around of late. WeÕre starting to play more consistently, which is what we need."
H-BC came out strong against the Knights by recording a 15-8 victory in Game 1, but R-T-R bounced back to even the match at one game each with a 15-6 win in the second tilt.
The Patriots regained their winning form by outscoring the Knights 30-14 in the final two contests.
H-BC rolled to a 15-2 win in the third game before prevailing 15-12 in the finale.
LaDonna Sandstede contributed 20 set assists and 15 service points to H-BCÕs winning cause.
Tonya Leenderts tied Erin Boeve for the team lead with seven digs. Boeve and Leenderts had 17 and six kills respectively. Boeve also charted five ace blocks.
Fey expects to see the Patriots make more progress as the regular season winds down, and she hopes they reach their peak at tournament time.
"I still don't think we've seen our best match of the year yet. We'll be looking for that to come very soon," she concluded.