West Fork volleyball falls to North Butler, Central Springs

Since defeating Rockford at the Nashua-Plainfield Tournament on Sept. 18, the West Fork volleyball team has been in a rough patch.

The Warhawks’ woes continued last week, falling to North Butler in a 3-2 heartbreaker on Sept. 28 at the West Fork High School Gymnasium in Sheffield, before getting swept by Central Springs on Sept. 30 at the Central Springs High School Gym in Manly.

As the Warhawks’ skid extended to three games, the red and black fell to 5-12 overall with a 2-5 mark within the Top of Iowa Conference’s eastern division.

This past Tuesday, the Warhawks faced off against Nashua-Plainfield in a Top of Iowa-East tilt held at the Nashua-Plainfield High School Gym in Nashua. This Saturday, West Fork will compete at the North Iowa Volleyball Tournament, set for a 9 a.m. start time at the North Iowa High School Gym in Buffalo Center.

Results from the match against the Huskies and run at Buffalo Center will be reported in an upcoming edition of the Pioneer-Enterprise/the Sheffield Press.

North Butler 3, West Fork 2: Despite pushing the Bearcats to five games, the Warhawks couldn’t quite get over the hump in a Top of Iowa-East matchup on Sept. 28 at the West Fork High School Gymnasium in Sheffield.

The Warhawks started the match with a 25-20 victory, before the Bearcats evened up the match with a 25-18 win. West Fork countered with another 25-20 win in the third set, before North Butler pushed the match to a final set with a 25-19 victory.

Using the momentum gained in the fourth set, the Bearcats pulled away with a 15-6 victory.

Senior Maddie Hubka led the way with 21 digs and one kill, along with sophomore Breckyn Dickman’s 10 digs and three service aces. Sophomore Kaylie Lundt tacked on 14 assists and four digs, followed by junior Ellie Weaver’s nine digs, one kill and one ace.

Junior Emma Martinek tallied seven kills, while senior Madisyn Bonner contributed with six kills and three digs. Senior Kalli Trewin had numbers in multiple categories with five kills, three blocks and one ace, followed by junior Keelee Sheriff’s four kills, one dig and one block.

Senior Haley Grady picked up seven digs, alongside sophomore Mallery Meier’s one kill and one ace. Senior Mya Braun had one kill, and sophomore Breea Weaver left the match with one assist.

Central Springs 3, West Fork 0: Two days later, the Warhawks couldn’t keep up with the Panthers in a Top of Iowa-East matchup on Sept. 30 at the Central Springs High School Gymnasium in Manly.

The Panthers handled the Warhawks with scores of 25-8, 25-20 and 25-14.

Hubka paced West Fork with 14 digs, one assist and one service ace, as Martinek totaled four kills and one ace. Breea Weaver put up six assists and three digs, alongside Lundt’s five digs, two assists and one ace.

Ellie Weaver earned five digs and two kills, while Bonner chipped in with three kills and one dig. Keelee Sheriff had one block and one dig, followed by Dickman’s eight digs, Grady’s three digs and Trewin’s two digs.

Junior Lexi Sheriff came away with one kill, and Meier had one block against the Panthers.