Well, they did it again! The South Loup Lady Bobcats volleyball team (19-7) once again dominated the court and claimed the crown as champions of the Mid-Nebraska Athletic Conference (MNAC). This is the second consecutive year that the Bobcats have won the title.

Going into the tournament as the top seed, the Bobcats had home court advantage on Thursday as they squared off against Hyannis in the best-of-five sets match. The Bobcats easily defeated the Longhorns, 3-0. The final scores were 25-6, 25-2, and 25-21.

Abby Stallbaumer had seven kills and six blocks. Charli Vickers had four kills and 10 serving aces on 17 attempts. Many of the younger players had a chance to play in the third set, which gave Greeley Hrupek 30 assists, and Delaney Rogers with two kills at the net. Hrupek also had five service attempts, Grace Bierman had four, and Delaynie Liable and Maggie Birkel each had three.

Saturday’s play moved to Broken Bow High School, as the Bobcats faced off against the Sandhills/Thedford Knights. The Knights, who defeated Arthur County in five sets during the first round of play, were no match for the much more experienced Bobcats. Sweeping them 3-0, the Bobcats outscored them 25-18, 25-22, and 25-22.

Leading the Bobcats at the net was Bryn Schwarz with 10 kills, followed by Stallbaumer, Taylor Ross, and Vickers with eight each. Stallbaumer continued her domination at the net with 13 blocks, followed by Vickers with eight. The Knights played good enough defense to provide some long rallies, which gave libero Talli Martin 31 digs, Lauren Johnson 30 digs, and Eva Pandorf with 23 digs. Pandorf also had an incredible 102 assists.

In the championship game, the Bobcats took on the Twin Loup Wolves and stopped them in three straight sets 25-17, 25-15, 25-17.

Schwarz and Vickers were on the net with eight kills each followed by Stallbaumer with seven. The Wolves hitters provided ample opportunities for blocking, with Stallbaumer adding 14 blocks, followed by Vickers with six and Johnson with five. The Bobcats were on fire with their serving - Pandorf saw the line 17 times, Martin 15 times, and Ross 13 times.

In other MNAC results, Sandhills/Thedford finished third, defeating Brady in five sets. Anselmo Merna beat Hyannis to finish fifth. Arthur County defeated Sandhills Valley to come in seventh.

On Tuesday the Bobcats traveled to Ainsworth for their last regular season game. Scores were not immediately available at press time.

Subdistrict play begins Monday Oct. 24. Matchups will be announced this week, but the teams assigned to C2-11 subdistrict include South Loup, Sutherland, Southern Valley, Southwest and St. Pat’s.