Very competitive volleyball found Holton going 2-0 on Tuesday night in the Roundhouse while Sabetha finished the night with a 1-1 mark and the host Hiawatha is still looking for their initial Big 7 League victory in 2018.  

Holton beat Hiawatha 25-13 and 25-21

Holton didn't start either game very strong, but was able to take the wins with some great play down the stretch.  Trailing 11-7 in the first set, the Wildcats rattled off 10 consecutive points and finished the match on a 18-2 run.  Senior Josie Marriott set the tone with some early kills while Olivia Yingst had three ace serves to help close the game.  Hiawatha again jumped to an early 4-1 lead in the second set, but Holton responded to tie the score at seven, nine and eleven and took a brief three-point advantage at 14-11.  Behind the serving of senior Felicity Thomas-Rodecap, the Hawks came back to take a 19-17 lead, before Holton scored 8 of the last 10 points to finish the match.   

Holton beat  Sabetha 23-25, 25-23, 25-20

These three games were back and forth and tight throughout, except set one, when Sabetha grabbed a 16-8 advantage.  Holton responded to tie the score at 20 and 21 with a 14-5 run before Sabetha took advantage of a couple late errors to win the first set.  Neither team led by more than five points in game two after the Wildcats staked an early 7-2 margin.  However, an ace by Savanna Booth gave Holton the lead for good at 19-18 and Regan Baum helped finish the second set with a pair of impressive kills. It was Sabetha taking an 8-3 early lead in the third set, but a 5-0 Holton run tied the score out of a timeout.  The Cats capped an 11-2 run by taking a 14-10 lead before Bluejay senior libero Hillary Krebs served the team back to ties at 14,15, 16 and 17.  Holton finally broke ahead by two points on a block and kill by Danika Hickman and held on for the clinching triumph.  Tabor Barta and Faith Haussler handling a lot of serving and setting duties for Holton whoe also had good net play from Paige Crouch adn Cailin Parks before improving to 7-2 on the season and 3-1 in the League.  

Sabetha beat Hiawatha 25-16 and 25-18

The Bluejays took control early in both sets and were never really threatened and Hiawatha struggled with some errors playing two talented freshman (Clara Lindstrom and Sarah Madsen).  Jaye Hrencher along with fellow juniors Emme Leupold, August Koerperich and libero Maggie Saul also contributed some key plays for Hiawatha who fell to 1-9 on the season.  Sabetha, despite a lack of size, showcased one of the most athletic and balanced lineups with nine regular players in the varsity rotation.  Nikki Kuenzi was terrific against Hiawatha in the final match while Melinna Schumann also delivered several kills for the Bluejays.  Payton Michael showed some great court awarness and balance plays at the net while Morgan and Kinley Schuette delivered some solid and consistent action and serving for Sabetha.  Mariah Russell, and Shayna Strahm each made some plays at the net and displayed nice blocking skills while Trista Argabright handled the majority of the setting duties as Sabetha improved to 7-6 on the season and 2-3 in League play.