Buatte’s 14 Kills, 9 Blocks Not Enough as Martinsville Edges Mulberry Grove in Three

MARTINSVILLE, Ill. — Addylyn Buatte put together one of the most complete nights a hitter can have, and Mulberry Grove still came up a set short. The junior middle hammered 14 kills on .367 hitting and stuffed nine solo blocks at the net, but host Martinsville survived a three-set conference match Thursday, Sept. 18, to beat the Aces 2-1.

The Bluestreaks improved to 15-10 on the season. Mulberry Grove fell to 5-15.

Buatte and classmate Allyse Blankenship carried nearly all of the Aces’ offense. The pair combined for 22 of Mulberry Grove’s kills — Buatte’s 14 on 30 swings with just three errors, Blankenship’s eight on 25 attempts — while the rest of the lineup went without a terminating swing. Setter Lillabelle Kelley distributed 12 assists across the three sets, feeding a two-option attack that Martinsville eventually learned to crowd.

What kept Mulberry Grove in the match was Buatte’s work above the tape. Her nine solo blocks, three per set, repeatedly took away the Bluestreaks’ middle and swung momentum in the stretches where the Aces built leads. Sophia Smith added two blocks, and Blankenship chipped in a block assist.

Defensively, Blankenship was everywhere. The junior dug 26 balls — 8.7 per set — and handled 16 serve receptions while adding two service aces on 11 attempts. Kelley and Buatte each posted 12 digs, and freshman Kenzie Walker contributed five digs and a clean seven-for-seven night in serve receive without an error.

Martinsville answered Mulberry Grove’s top-heavy attack with depth. Seven different Bluestreaks recorded a kill, led by Hope Hammond and Addison Mcdearmon with seven apiece. Mcdearmon was the more efficient of the two, hitting .200 with only three errors on 20 swings, while Ezzy Herrera added five kills and Trinity Simons four on a heavy 19-attempt workload.

The difference, in the end, came from the service line. Hammond ripped four aces on 13 serves — a 30.8 percent ace rate — and Mcdearmon added three more on 12 attempts. Those seven free points from the Bluestreaks’ top two scoring threats offset a Mulberry Grove serving night that was steady but not disruptive, with the Aces managing five aces as a team and Smith going a perfect 12-for-12 from the line.

Martinsville ran a two-setter look, with Mcdearmon and Molly Kannamacher splitting the offense at 11 assists each. Behind them, libero Harper Baird anchored the back row with 13 digs and 22 serve receptions, absorbing the bulk of Mulberry Grove’s serving pressure. Mcdearmon added 10 digs, Bella Reed 10 and Kannamacher nine as the Bluestreaks kept rallies alive long enough to wear down the Aces’ short rotation of attackers.

Charity Hammond provided a late lift off the bench, posting two kills on seven swings and two block assists in two sets of work.

For Mulberry Grove, the loss continues a difficult season, but Buatte’s line — 14 kills, nine blocks, 12 digs, an ace — travels well regardless of the result.

Game Summary

Score by Sets

Match Date: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2026 — Conference match at Martinsville

Individual Statistics

MULBERRY GROVE

KILLS: Addylyn Buatte 14 (30 att, 3 err, .367); Allyse Blankenship 8 (25 att, 5 err, .120)

ASSISTS: Lillabelle Kelley 12; Kenzie Walker 2; Blankenship 2; Buatte 2; Sophia Smith 1

DIGS: Blankenship 26; Kelley 12; Buatte 12; Walker 5; Smith 3; Kylee Bradford 1

BLOCKS: Buatte 9 (9 solo); Smith 2 (1 solo, 1 assist); Blankenship 1 (assist)

SERVING (ACES-ATT): Blankenship 2-11 (81.8%); Walker 1-7 (85.7%); Buatte 1-12 (83.3%); Smith 1-12 (100.0%); Kelley 0-9 (66.7%)

SERVE RECEIVE: Blankenship 16 (1 err); Smith 10 (1 err); Buatte 8 (1 err); Walker 7 (0 err); Kelley 5 (2 err); Bradford 1 (0 err)

MARTINSVILLE

KILLS: Hope Hammond 7 (17 att, 5 err, .118); Addison Mcdearmon 7 (20 att, 3 err, .200); Ezzy Herrera 5 (14 att, 5 err, .000); Trinity Simons 4 (19 att, 6 err, -.105); Charity Hammond 2 (7 att, .286); Myah Arney 1; Austyn Davidson 1

ASSISTS: Mcdearmon 11; Molly Kannamacher 11; Ho. Hammond 1

DIGS: Harper Baird 13; Mcdearmon 10; Bella Reed 10; Kannamacher 9; Davidson 6; Simons 5; Ho. Hammond 3; Herrera 1

BLOCKS: Herrera 2 (assists); Ch. Hammond 2 (assists)

SERVING (ACES-ATT): Ho. Hammond 4-13; Mcdearmon 3-12; Kannamacher 2-21 (95.2%); Reed 1-9 (66.7%)

SERVE RECEIVE: Baird 22 (2 err); Simons 12 (1 err); Reed 7; Davidson 4 (2 err); Mcdearmon 3; Ch. Hammond 1