Ciara McDowell serves up an ace against Ekalaka, in the first serve of her first match as she returns from injury.
Broadus Lady Hawk volleyball finished off their regular season on Saturday with a win against Terry, sealing second place in the district for the season. The Lady Hawks also beat Ekalaka Thursday in three straight sets.
During the match against Ekalaka, Ciara McDowell came out during the third set to serve, with Broadus down by several points. Ciara has missed most of the season with a hurt ankle, and only recently was cleared for limited volleyball activities.
In Ciara's first serve back off the injured list she placed the ball perfectly for an ace, and continued to put points on the board for the Lady Hawks as they roared back to lead the set and eventually win the match, with scores of 25-11, 25-21, and 25-10.
Coach Monica Smith spoke of McDowell's return: "Ciara has had a role as a spark for us, and that ability was shown against Ekalaka as she changed the momentum."
McDowell also saw limited time on the court against Terry, and will likely see a limited role going forward in the season, depending on the healing process of her ankle.
Broadus faced the scrappy Terry Lady Terriers on Saturday, winning the first set 25-15, but the tenacious Terriers clawed back to win the second set 25-19. Broadus then turned around their fortunes in the third and fourth sets to win 25-15 and 25-9.
This week, Coach Smith plans to focus on defense in the team's practice, commenting "When we are blocking well, we play better overall."
Broadus will travel to Glendive this Thursday to play in the District 2C Tournament at Dawson Community College. Coach Smith told us that the majority of the team has experience on the Dawson court over the last few seasons, so the venue should not prove to be a source of pressure, though the girls' ability to play the matches to the potential is always an obstacle to overcome.
The Lady Hawks enter the tournament with a 12-1 overall conference record and have a first round bye, facing the winner of the 5-8 in conference Ekalaka and 2-11 Plevna match. The only conference team to hand Broadus a loss this season was Circle, a team which beat Broadus twice overall. Circle also finishes the season at 12-1, having lost to Savage, a team which Broadus beat early this season. Savage is third in the conference at 11-2. Three teams from Districts will go on to Divisionals, next week in Sidney.
Additional photos may be found in the October 26, 2023 photo album.
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