The Lady Hawk volleyball team played in two matches over the last week; the first at Belle Fourche, then at home on Friday against Jordan, for Homecoming.

Coach Gordon Archer knew that Belle Fourche would present a major challenge for his team. Belle Fourche is a Class A school in South Dakota and the equivalent of a Class A school in Montana, with around 370 students enrolled in 9-12th grade (according to a quick internet search).

Broadus has made this trip for years; Archer believes that in order to improve and excel, a team must face tough opponents, and such was the case at Belle Fourche.

The Lady Hawks came out cautiously, perhaps feeling a bit overmatched, according to Archer. About midway through the first game, Broadus realized they could play at a level with the South Dakota team, and put some points on the board. This confidence carried through to the second game as Broadus beat Belle Fourche, 25-21, and continued through much of the third game. Belle Fourche came back strong later in the third and into the fourth game, cementing the win for our neighbors from the "beautiful fork". Game scores were 10-25, 25-21, 15-25, and 12-25.

Zeason and Oliveah Schaffer, along with Jadyn Traub, had standout performances on the evening. Please check the stats on Page 2 for more info.

When speaking of the Homecoming match on Friday, Coach Archer mused, "Looking back it was a fun night, but there was sure a lot of tension in the air that evening."

The Lady Hawks faced the Jordan Mustangs on Homecoming, a team which had beaten Broadus on two separate occasions this season. This time around, Broadus wasn't going to leave the gym without a win, and with the home crowd's boisterous cheering, the Lady Hawks saw that goal come to fruition.

Broadus initially came out quite strong, serving well and playing good volleyball, but the Lady Mustangs battled back in the first game, beating Broadus 25-22. Jordan kept up the pressure through the second game, winning 25-19. The third game was a do or die situation for Broadus, and the Lady Hawks came back strong, winning 25-17.

"In the 4th and 5th games, it could've went either way. We played strong volleyball and came out with the win – I'm proud of our girls for how they played," Archer said of the game.

Broadus would win the second two games by close margins, 27-25 in the 4th and 16-14 in the 5th.

"It was fun to see the gym full and hear the crowd get into the games, and good to see that we can come back to win. I'll give the Jordan coach a lot of credit," Archer commented. "Her team had some injuries and personnel issues, but they really challenged us and made it a great match."

Several Broadus players had some outstanding performances against Jordan. Jadyn Traub led the team by going 17 for 20 on serves including 6 aces, and had 6 kills and 6 blocks. Abi Krantz had 6 kills and 2 blocks, coming off an ankle injury in practice before the Belle Fourche match. Zeason Schaffer went 13 for 15 on serves with 3 aces and 12 assists, and Lucinda Cain went 17 for 17 on serves, with 1 ace.

Broadus traveled to St. Labre this Tuesday (after our deadline), and hosts Ekalaka this Saturday, with Junior High matches beginning at 2 and 3, High School JV planned for 4 pm, and Varsity play at 5:30.

Broadus currently sits 4th out of 6 teams in the conference, at 4-2.

Stats https://www.powderriverexaminer.com/home/customer_files/stats/volleyball_stats-16.jpg