The Seward volleyball team picked up three wins last week, beating Hastings 25-12, 25-20 and Adams Central 25-17, 19-25, 25-19 Aug. 30 and then outlasting Columbus Lakeview 13-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-17 15-13 Sept. 1.
Sophia Turek was the offensive leader against Hastings, finishing with six kills. She, Abby Covalt and Libby Kratochvil had nine digs each, as well.
Coach Tom Pallas said aggressive play on the outside contributed to the SHS win.
In the win over Adams Central, Turek paced the Jays with 12 kills. Kelsey Miller added nine. Nova Nordmeyer recorded 11 digs and Keira Lliteras added 10. Kratochvil put up 31 set assists.
Pallas said Amara Siebert had a good night in both matches, committing no errors on eight attack attempts and recording five kills against Hastings and five kills on nine attempts against Adams Central.
"She was really the sparkplug," he said.
Overall in the two matches, Pallas was happy to see the team's balance across the board. Seward has four hitters who can notch kills which makes it hard for teams to defend. He said one of the other keys is the Bluejays' side-out percentage, which was 70% against Hastings.
Adams Central was ranked in C1 in the preseason polls and played at state last fall.
"This was a big win for us," Pallas said.
In the five-set win over Lakeview, Turek pounded 16 kills, with Miller and Lliteras adding nine each. Kratochvil delivered 35 assists.
On defense, Covalt picked up 22 digs, with Lliteras adding 16 and Turek and Kratochvil 11 each.
The match was a back-and-forth battle, Pallas said. Lakeview has finished third at state the last two years, and the Bluejay win was the first for the team over Lakeview in four years. Pallas was pleased to see his team keep fighting throughout the match.
SHS finished with 47 kills total.
"Balance will be key for us all year," Pallas said. "You can't sit on anyone. We have more weapons."
Seward (5-1) is next in action Thursday, Sept. 8, at Nebraska City and Saturday, Sept. 10, in a tournament at Norris starting at 9 a.m. Seward's pool at Norris includes Crete, Beatrice and Ralston. The other pool is Norris, Adams Central, Platteview and Lincoln Northwest.
