The West Holt Huskies split their final two games of the regular season, with a win against the North Central Knights on Thursday, Oct. 12, and a loss to the Battle Creek Braves on Friday, Oct. 13.
The Lady Huskies took to the road for both contests, kicking off their week with a matchup against conference foe North Central. The Huskies came off the bus hot, winning set number one 25-18. With momentum at their back and a ferocious need to end their regular season with a bang, the Huskies would dominate in both sets two and three, winning 25-12, and 25-21 to secure the three-set sweep over the Knights, improving the Huskies record to 18-6.
Leading the way for the Huskies in the kills category was Monca Chavez with ten, followed by Kinley Cadwallader with eight, Kenna Schaaf with five, and the trio of Lainey Smith, Ainsley Galyen and Abby Davis with four each. The Huskies also had an impressive night from the service line, racking up five aces with two from Glayen and Avery Nemetz, and one from Lainey Smith.
West Holt also threw a little bit of a block party against the Knights, hosted by Chavez with three, Smith with one, Davis with one, and Schaaf with one.
Other notable performances for the Huskies were 10 digs from Addie Karo and 35 assists from Smith.
Following the Huskies dominating victory, the squad took to the road to take on the 20-7 Battle Creek Braves, where the Huskies just couldn’t find a groove. The Huskies would fight hard on the road, but in the end would fall in three sets to the Braves, ending their regular season contests.
On Monday, Oct. 16 the Huskies would have an opportunity to bounce right back in the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament against the Elkhorn Valley Falcons, who swept Niobrara-Verdigre in the first round of the tournament to earn the right to face the Huskies.
The last time these two teams met up was during the Huskies homecoming week, when the Falcons were able to claw their way to victory in five sets over West Holt. This time around, the Huskies would come out with a vengeance.
The Huskies will to win mixed with the fatigue of the Falcons set up for a great night for the Huskies. The Huskies would come out ready to play in set one, battling back-and-forth with the Falcons, who were already warmed up from their previous contest.
In the end, the Huskies would squeak away with set one 25-22. Set two began rough for the Huskies, down early with momentum leaking towards the side of the Falcons, the Huskies had to use the momentum of a couple of rallies to get themselves back into striking distance, before finally gaining the lead for good late in the set. The Huskies went on to win set two 25-21 after a striking comeback. With the inclusion of the comeback, set two seemed to be the difference-maker. In set three the Falcons seemed defeated, while the Huskies continued pounding at the Falcons behind the noise of their home crowd. West Holt went on to win set three 25-19 for the three-set-sweep.
With the victory, the Huskies play in the NVC semifinals on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. against St. Mary’s at Boyd County. If the Huskies win, they’ll play for the championship on Friday, Oct. 20, and if they lose, they’ll be in the consolation game on the same night.