The Hay Springs Lady Hawks capped a weekend of volleyball action with a Panhandle Conference title.

The number two seeded Hawks went 2-0 to win the title Saturday in Edgemont. They faced Edgemont in the battle for the championship after defeating Hemingford in the semi-finals. After dropping the first set to the Moguls 25-19, Hay Springs fought back and won the next two sets over Edgemont 25-17, 25-20.

The Hawks had a bye in the first round and defeated Hemingford in the semi-finals 2-1. Down 12-4 in the first set, the Hawks staged a comeback to win 25-22. The momentum shifted entirely to Hemingford in the second as they breezed to a 25-10 victory to even the match and force a third set. Hay Springs maintained a three-to-four-point advantage for much of the final set until Hemingford tightened the race and eventually tied the score at 24 and 25. Hay Springs held the Bobcats off for a 27-25 win to advance to the title game.

The Hawks also picked up a five-set win over Sioux County at home on Friday afternoon and are now 21-5 on the year. Hay Springs took the first set Friday 25-19 before dropping the second 16-25. The Hawks narrowly edged the Warriors in the third 25-23 to go up 2-1. Sioux County rebounded, forcing a fifth set, defeating the Hawks 25-20 in the fourth. In another tight contest, the teams battled it out, with Hay Springs ending up on top 15-13. Three Hawks landed more than 10 kills in the marathon match: Breely Smith with 14, Gabby Twarling with 11 and Mya Turman with 10.

Sioux County nabs third

The Sioux County Warriors took third place at the Panhandle Conference Volleyball Tournament in Edgemont Saturday, going 2-1 on the day.

The Warriors earned the third-place medal with a 25-16, 16-25, 25-19 win over Hemingford. Momentum in the first two sets split between the teams as each posted a 25-16 victory to tie the match at 1-1 and force a third set. Sioux County controlled the first, while Hemingford breezed to the win in the second.

The final set was more closely contested with seven ties. Sioux County won the early game, with Hemingford taking its first lead at 8-7. The Bobcats controlled the middle of the set, and the Warriors retook the lead 18-17 and went on a 7-2 run, closing out the set for the win with two kills and a block by Tamika Eastman.

Sioux County posted 25 kills in the match, led by Tamika Eastman with 12 and Sierra Eastman with seven. Both Eastman sisters, along with Becca Reece, landed two ace serves apiece, part of the Warriors combined seven aces.

The Warriors dropped to the consolation bracket after suffering a loss to Edgemont in the semi-finals.

The Moguls picked up the three-set 25-14, 23-25, 25-17 win to advance to the title game. After an early 3-1 lead behind consecutive Tamika Eastman and Kaylee Juhnke kills, the Warriors allowed Edgemont to take a 5-3 lead, which they maintained the rest of the set.

In the second set, Sioux County trailed 2-3 but took a 5-3 lead on Sierra Eastman and Ella Hyer kills. Edgemont tied the score at 14 on three Warrior errors and went ahead 17-14. Another Hyer kill and two aces by Juhnke knotted the game again at 17, and a big Sioux County block turned the momentum back to the Warriors for a 19-18 edge. They used it to assemble a 6-5 run to stave off the Moguls and force a third set.

Edgemont controlled the tempo from the outset in the third game, opening up a 7-2 lead with four kills. The Warriors closed to within two at 13-11 in a run that included two aces and two kills, but the Moguls answered with two aces and a kill to provide a 19-12 cushion. Four consecutive kills by Edgemont’s Peyton Ostenson put the Moguls up 23-14 as they rolled to the win.

Sioux County had 17 kills in the match, with the Eastman sisters and Hyer combining for 15 of them. The Warriors landed six aces, led by Juhnke with two.

The number-four Warriors opened the tournament with a round one victory over Morrill 25-20, 25-8. The teams battled it out early in the first set, with Sioux County seeing an early advantage before Morrill took a 6-4 lead on back-to-back blocks and an ace serve. Sioux County answered with three consecutive kills, two by Sierra Eastman and one by Britney Klein to go up 11-8. The Warriors maintained the lead the remainder of the set and controlled the second set from the outset. Sioux County opened up a 7-1 lead in a run that included two ace serves by Klein and Tamika Eastman enroute to the win.

Sioux County had 18 kills in the match, led by Kaylee Juhnke and Sierra Eastman with six apiece, and dropped in eight ace serves, led by Tamika Eastman with three.

Crawford ends sixth

The Crawford Rams finished in sixth place at the Panhandle Conference Volleyball Tournament Saturday in Edgemont.

The Rams were 0-2 on the day, opening the tournament with a loss to Hemingford and dropping a 2-1 game to Morrill in the consolation bracket.

Morrill earned a 2-1 victory to take fifth over the Rams, winning the first and third sets 25-11, 25-20. Crawford took the second set 25-20 to force a three-set battle.

The Rams led 4-2 early in the first set, but the Lions tied it at four and then took a lead they never relinquished. The situation reversed in the second when Morrill opened with a 4-2 edge, which it extended to an 8-3 lead. Crawford hung in, however, and tied the score at 19. Capitalizing on Lion errors and two kills by Carly Lemmon, the Rams put together a 6-1 run to take the set.

Morrill led from the outset in the final game, opening up an 18-10 lead. The Rams were able to pull within three with a 5-0 run that included three aces by Tianna Clark to make it 18-15. A free-ball kill and another ace by Kamden Victory made it 19-17, but the Rams were unable to close the gap any further. The Rams had 18 kills in the match, along with eight aces. Carly Lemmon led the Rams with six kills, and Kamden Victory and Tianna Clark each had three ace serves.

Crawford faced Hemingford in the first round. The Bobcats took the win 25-15, 25-19 to advance to the semi-finals. The Rams led 3-1 thanks to an Alexa Tollman kill and two Bobcat hitting errors. Hemingford responded with two kills and an ace to go up 4-3 and controlled the game the rest of the way. Tollman opened the second set with three consecutive aces, and that, combined with errors by the Bobcats, gave Crawford a 5-0 advantage. After a 6-4 score, the Rams kept the Bobcats at bay by three to five points until they pulled within one at 15-14 behind a block and two aces.

Hemingford tied the score at 16 and 18 before taking a 19-18 lead. The Bobcats used a 6-1 run to take the come-from-behind game and match win. Crawford had six kills and five aces in the match.