Savage Heat gets hardware at home

After a busy weekend of volleyball in Hot Springs, only one Sanders County team in District 14C are moving on to the divisional tournament. Hot Springs finished second in the district tournament, held on their home court, after playing four matches in a row Friday to end the tournament. Noxon placed third in the district and had a playoff match Monday against Valley Christian, the No. 3 team from District 13C, Noxon fell in three sets and missed a trip to divisional..

Charlo and Noxon each had a bye in the first round of the District 14c tournament and the first competitors were the St. Regis Tigers and the Alberton Panthers with the Panthers falling to the Tigers in four sets.

The Hot Springs Lady Savage Heat faced the Two Eagle River Eagles for match two. Hot Springs came out on fire and kept a strong lead in the first set, and in set two the Savage Heat once again took the serving lead keeping the Lady Eagles to minimal scoring. Set three was a sweep for Hot Springs keeping Two Eagle River to only seven points the whole match, securing the win.

Match three was between the Charlo Vikings and St. Regis. Charlo came with winning on their minds to take the Tigers down in three sets.

It was a county rivalry for match four with the Noxon Red Devils taking on the Lady Savage Heat. Coming off their win, Hot Springs was able to take Noxon in three sets.

In the consolation bracket, St. Regis stayed alive on the first day of play Thursday with a three-set win over Two Eagle River, ending the season for Two Eagle.

The last match of Thursday put Alberton on the court against Noxon. The Red Devils were able to take the lead in set one until the Panthers were able to come back, keeping the score point for point. Noxon was able to pull ahead once again, keeping Alberton at bay for the set win. The Panthers came back in the second and quickly took the lead. Noxon kept a level head and was able to come back, tying the game at 16 before taking the lead. Alberton was able to gain two more points before the Red Devils were able to rally the win. It would be Noxon who would take the lead in the third set, keeping the Lady Panthers at only 12 points for the set win.

Friday was full of intense competition as Noxon and St. Regis played in the consolation final first. The teams went point for point until Noxon was able to take the lead. While the Tigers tried to catch up they were no match for the Lady Devils as they swiftly took the set win. The Tigers came out in the second set not wanting to be caged again. They went point for point with the Lady Red Devils until they pulled ahead for the set win. In set three both teams came out strong, with Noxon taking the lead. With the score 24-21 senior Mia Vogel set up a near perfect set to senior Maygan Swanson for the winning spike. Going into set four the Tigers took a small lead early on, but the Lady Red Devils were able to tie the game at 12-12. Freshman Abby Yoder was able to help Noxon take the lead with her strong serves. The Lady Red Devils took the win 22-18, setting them up to play the loser of the Hot Springs-Charlo matchup

In the first of their four-match-long run, the Savage Heat took on Charlo. In the first set Charlo came out taking the lead. With the help of the hometown crowd, Hot Springs was able to catch up but not enough to take the set win. The Lady Vikings came into the second set strong, taking the lead and keeping it, and the Lady Savage Heat did their best to come back but couldn't shut out Charlo. In set three the Lady Vikings came out stronger than ever, shutting Hot Springs down at 14 points earning the match win and moving on to take a spot in the championship.

Hot Springs had a short break before playing Noxon for a spot in the championship. The cross-county battle was almost more nerve racking than the championship as county rivals faced each other once again at the net. Hot Springs was able to take the first few points putting them ahead of the Red Devils, but Noxon answered back keeping the score point for point with astonishing volleys from both teams. The set was tied at 23-23 when sophomore Kara Christensen was able to spike one down earning Hot Springs the serve, and from the serve the Lady Savage Heat were able to take the set win.

Set two went point for point the whole set until Hot Springs was able to pull ahead for the second set win. Noxon came into the third set for revenge, taking the lead and keeping it for the set win. It would be the Lady Savage Heat who would take the lead in the fourth set. Noxon was able to make an incredible comeback but it was not enough for the match win. Noxon would settle for third place as Hot Springs moved on to the championship, once again taking on Charlo.

The Lady Savage Heat and Lady Vikings went head to head in the first set, until Charlo was able to stop Hot Springs from scoring at 14 points taking the first set win. Hot Springs came back with new fire in the second set, quickly taking the lead. Even when Charlo was able to catch up to the Lady Savage Heat they paid no mind to the score and played their game earning them the second set win. It seemed Charlo would take the third game with a score of 13-22, but they were not expecting the monumental comeback the Lady Savage Heat would have. Junior Georgia Uski helped Hot Springs gain five points with her serving, bringing the score 18-20. While the Lady Vikings were able to score four more points it would be the Lady Savage Heat who would take the third set win. Now with two set wins under their belts Hot Springs came out level headed and ready to fight for the win going point for point with Charlo. The score was 24-21 when senior Lauryn Aldridge was able to get the winning point from her block.

"It was so much fun. That's the first time we beat Charlo in five-ish years," Aldridge said. "We worked hard to beat them."

As the tournament was a double elimination format, Hot Springs needed one more win to take the top spot. As the Savage Heat prepared to face the Vikings in the challenge game, Aldridge said they were exhausted. "That was our fourth game in a row so it was a challenge."

The Vikings were out for revenge this match, quickly shutting down Hot Springs, keeping them to only four points in the first set. The Lady Savage Heat came back in the second set the best they could but once again were briskly outscored. Hot Springs tried to come back in the third set, but were unable to stop the powerhouse Lady Vikings.

The Charlo Lady Vikings took first in the 14C districts with the Hot Springs Lady Savage Heat taking second.

Aldridge said it was nice to get hardware in a tournament on their home court and that the team is looking forward to divisional. "We are going to work on our intensity and just work as hard as we can at the next level," she said.

Hot Springs is now looking forward to the Western C divisional tournament held at Manhattan Christian. The Savage Heat will open the tournament against the Twin Bridges Falcons at 9 a.m. Thursday.