The Birds fall to the Pioneers 3-1 on Monday night

Andrea Suarez Espinosa and Natalie Hinegardner

October 8, 2025

Despite strong efforts across the board, the Bluebird couldn’t overcome the Pioneers’ offensive, dropping their record to 17-7 on the season.

Offensively, Liz Perkins (12) led Highlands with 38 kills, pushing her season total to 210. At the net, Bella Thomas (10) added 8 total blocks, bringing her season count to 39. From the service line, Ava Muzumdar (12) made 12 aces, boosting her season total to 44.

Defensively, Hayden Gessner (12) helped the back row with 60 digs and 62 receptions, increasing her season totals to 318 digs and 255 receptions. Muzumdar also directed the offensive, adding 36 assists to her 321 on the season.

As a team, Highlands now totals 695 kills, 104 blocks, 235 aces, 1,177 digs, 691 assists, and 881 receptions on the year.

This Tuesday, Highlands will face Lloyd Memorial at home on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., aiming to bounce back.

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About the Contributors

Andrea Suarez Espinosa, Photo Assistant

Andrea Suarez Espinosa is a sophomore at Highlands High School. She is on the Track and Field team and enjoys spending most of her time with family and friends. Andrea spends a lot of time investing in her relationship with God through her Christian community and is involved in Highlands Navigators. She has been in publications for 2 years and keeps going for her interest in photography. She would aspire to keep taking photography more seriously in the coming years at Highlands.

Natalie Hinegardner, Staff

Hinegardner is a senior at Highlands High School and has been enrolled in Fort Thomas Independent Schools since kindergarten at Ruth Moyer Elementary. She has been in the publication department for 4 years. She enjoys writing stories even though she struggles with finding the right words sometimes. She is very opinionated about something she is passionate about when she is comfortable with the people around her. Natalie is a hard worker when it comes to school and sports. She is very proud of her sports and always wants to succeed in them. Her goal is to reach the next level and play soccer in college. She loves her family and friends so much. Although school and sports take up a lot of time, she always tries to find time to hang out with the people she loves most.