It took four sets, three of which were hotly contested, for the Sioux County Warriors to triumph over the Cody-Kilgore Cowgirls Friday.
The Warriors earned the Homecoming victory 25-22, 25-22, 25-27, 25-15.
There were five lead changes and six ties in the opening set, with the Cowgirls leading 7-5 early before consecutive kills by Becca Reece and Sierra Eastman tied it at seven. Two more kills by Eastman and a third by her sister Tamika Eastman put the Warriors ahead 11-9, but a series of errors and a Cowgirl block put C-K back on top 13-11. Sierra Eastman added another kill and two ace serves to help flip the lead again, and after edging ahead 16-13, the Warriors remained in the driver’s seat. They closed out the first set with a Sierra Eastman block and a Reece ace.
Sioux County got off to a slow start in the second, allowing Cody-Kilgore to go up 5-3 before they were able to knot the score at seven on a Tamika Eastman kill. Two aces by Sierra Eastman and a kill by Kaylee Juhnke put the Warriors ahead 10-7. The Cowgirls came back to tie the set at 16 after several Sioux County errors. The Warriors took the next two points with a Sierra Eastman kill and an Ashley Hunter ace and kept C-K at bay, winning three of the final four points on kills by Juhnke and Tamika Eastman.
The Cowgirls raced out to a 7-1 lead in the third, while the Warriors struggled to find their rhythm. A block by the Eastman sisters, two aces by Reece and another kill by Tamika Eastman helped Sioux County close to within two, 8-10. The Warriors were able to tie the contest at 14, 15, 16 and 19 and led 21-19 after two Cowgirl errors. Sioux County extended that to 24-21 but a Cowgirl kill and two aces locked it up at 24 all. Cody-Kilgore went on to take the win, capitalizing on two Warrior errors and a Cowgirl kill, to force a fourth set.
Sioux County took control immediately in the fourth, jumping to a 5-0 lead. Cody-Kilgore went on a 4-0 run to make it 5-4, but the Warriors held them off and went up 9-5 with a 4-1 run. From there, Sioux County had the set and match well in hand and closed out the game on two attacking errors by C-K.
Tamika Eastman led the Warriors attacking with 17 kills, followed by Sierra Eastman with 13. Reece and Sierra Eastman dropped in five ace serves.