The Broadus Lady Hawk Volleyball Team kicked off the District Tournament in Glendive last week by traveling up on Wednesday evening. The Lady Hawks were set to play in the early game on Thursday, so Coach Gordon Archer figured going up the day before would provide much better rest than waking up really early, traveling to Glendive, then potentially playing in several games throughout the day. Archer's thinking was sound, as those of us who awoke early to make the journey were able to test out our brakes and up our heart rates braving the mule deer minefield that is Highway 59 at sun-up.

Broadus faced Jordan in their first match of the day. Jordan and Broadus had split their regular season matches earlier in the year, so this tournament play could be anyone's match to win.

Broadus came out well, matching up with Jordan and keeping the score really close throughout the first game. A few critical mistakes for Broadus in missed serves and serve/receives gone astray made the difference for Jordan, as they took the first game, 25-21.

"We gave them some easy points, and in a tournament that's something you have to stay away from," Archer commented during a Monday interview.

From that point, Jordan seemed to gain some momentum, and beat Broadus in the next two games, 25-16 and 25-8.

After the loss, Broadus would have to win several matches in order to continue on to Divisionals, but the path was still open. Before any thoughts of another tournament could take place, Broadus would first need to beat Circle, a team which had given Broadus troubles this year, beating the Lady Hawks twice.

The match against Circle took place early Thursday evening.

This time around, the Broadus team would do their absolute best to keep their hopes alive.

Coach Archer spoke of the match: "We did a lot of good things against Circle. We came out and won the first game 25-23, but lost the second in a close one, 25-27. We came back strong in the third to take the third game 25-15, but Circle came right back in the fourth, beating us 25-17. The fifth game only goes to 15, and we made a few crucial errors. In a game that short, you don't have much time to recover, and Circle was able to capitalize, beating us 15-7."

With the second loss of the day, the Lady Hawks were finished with the tournament, and their season came to a close. Jordan would go on to take third in the tournament, and along with Ekalaka and Wibaux will go on to the Divisional Tournament.

"I give Circle and Jordan a lot of credit. They played really well," Archer said. "Unfortunately, those were the last games for our two outstanding Seniors, Karli Collins and Jadyn Traub. I want to say thank you for all your effort over the years, you will be missed."

Archer also wanted to thank his Assistant Coach, Melissa Billing: "Thanks for all your help, I definitely give you a lot of credit for the last couple of years in helping to improve our program. You've done an amazing job preparing all the junior high girls to be ready to compete at the high school level."

Here are the tournament stats for Broadus:

Senior Lady Hawk Karli Collins.

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