The Minatare Indians pulled off the upset Monday in the opening round of the D2-12 Sub-District volleyball tournament in Hay Springs, defeating number one Hay Springs in five sets to advance to Tuesday’s championship contest against the Sioux County Warriors.

Minatare’s two-hour victory came in sets of 11-25, 25-22, 25-22, 18-25 and 15-12 after they swept Banner County to earn a spot in the semi-finals. Minatare is now 7-20 on the season, and the Hawks’ 15-13 year has come to an end.

Minatare opened the first set with an early lead, but the Hawks capitalized on several miscues to edge ahead 5-4 and cruised to the 25-11 win. The pair of 25-22 sets in the middle of the contest were close all the way. The Hawks struck first in the second set but couldn’t shake the Indians. The score was knotted up 13 times, and the teams traded the lead another six times. The Hawks led early, but Minatare inched ahead 4-3 and opened up a 10-8 lead before Hay Springs responded with kills by Breely Smith to go up 14-12. The teams were tied three times from set point 19 on, and Minatare rolled to the set win with a tip and a block by Cheyanne Taylor and a kill by Katlin VanWinkle.

The Indians maintained more control in the third set, going up 13-9 after allowing the Hawks to tie the score three times and take the lead briefly. Kills by Smith and Ashley Tobiaasson, along with an ace serve by Molly Spicer, turned the momentum to the Hawks for an 18-17 advantage. Minatare didn’t let that stand, taking a 20-19 lead after a Taylor kill and a Hay Springs net violation. The Indians fended off the late challenge and looked ahead to a fourth set.

Minatare continued the fight, opening up an 11-7 lead but consecutive kills by the Hawks’ Samantha Toof and errors by the Indians tied the match at 11. The Hawks used it to their advantage and pulled out to a 20-14 lead and cruised to the win to force a fifth set.

The shorter fifth set saw four lead changes and four ties as the teams battled it out. The Hawks went up 2-1 but the Indians flipped it to 3-2 in their favor with an ace serve by Aliyah Garza. Hay Springs found themselves back on top after a kill and an ace by Laney Smith but it slipped away as both teams struggled with errors; the Indians finally connected for two kills by Corina Meyers for a 12-8 lead. Toof hammered out consecutive kills for the Hawks to cut the deficit, but the Indians benefited from three Hawk errors to clinch the game.

Minatare will take on Sioux County Tuesday night in Hay Springs, with the winner securing a spot in the District Finals. First serve will be at 6 p.m.

Warriors End Rams Season

The Sioux County Warriors evened the score with the Crawford Rams Monday, as the teams entered post-season action with the Rams up 2-1 in head-to-head competition with the Warriors.

Sioux County defeated the Rams in four sets in the D2-12 semi-finals in Hay Springs, securing a spot in the Sub-District championship and ending Crawford’s season. The Warriors took the victory 25-20, 23-25, 25-9, 25-19 to improve to 16-8, while Crawford fell to 13-13 on the year.

While the Rams tied the opening set four times early, they never could edge past the Warriors. Up by 10 points late in the set, the Warriors needed just two points to close things out. Crawford had other ideas, however, and held Sioux County at set points 23 and 24 long enough to cut the deficit in half. The second set was back-and-forth with 10 ties and six lead changes. The teams essentially went point-for-point early until Sioux County was able to open up a 22-16 lead behind a block and two kills by Sierra Eastman and an ace serve by Britney Klein. But the Rams were undeterred and struck back with an ace by Natalie Barry and consecutive kills to make it 22-21. A missed serve and two hitting errors by the Warriors handed the lead to Crawford, and Skylar Summers nabbed the win for the Rams with a kill.

The third set belonged to Sioux County all the way, as they opened up a 18-4 lead in a streak that included three kills and five aces by Tamika Eastman and a kill by Kailey Klein. Summers and Carly Lemmon landed kills for the Rams, and Barry added a block, but the effort came too late as the Warriors took went up 2-1. The final set again belonged to the Warriors. The Rams tied the score three times early but after taking a 4-3 lead, the Warriors never looked back.

Sioux County will take on Minatare Tuesday night in Hay Springs, with the winner securing a spot in the District Finals. First serve will be at 6 p.m.

- Kerri Rempp