Howell was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They took a 3-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Troy-Buchanan Trojans. The Vikings were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Trojans earlier this season, when they won 3-1.
Howell was was forced to take the loss, but they sure made Troy-Buchanan work for it, especially in the second set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-20, 27-25, 24-26, 25-20.
Howell's offense was headlined by Kylie Poinsett and Jocie Nepute, who picked up 11 kills apiece. They got some help from Grace Thompson and her 22 assists. Grace Tutschulte controlled things from the service line, finishing with three aces.
Howell's loss dropped their record down to 3-18-2. As for Troy-Buchanan, their win ended a three-match drought on the road and puts them at 6-8-2.
Howell and Troy-Buchanan could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Missouri Rankings. The Vikings will face off against Mater Dei at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday with a big rank disadvantage (160 vs. 4). Meanwhile, Troy-Buchanan (ranked 171st) will meet Fort Zumwalt West (ranked 35th) at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
