HUMBOLDT — Fresh from earning the Tri-Valley League title, the Humboldt Cubs’ pursuit of a berth to the KSHSAA 2A Volleyball State Championships stayed alive after their sweep of a home regional on Monday.
Hosting the Class 2A regional tournament, Humboldt swept Belle Plaine, 2-0 (25-11, 25-10), Eureka, 2-0 (25-13, 25-14) and Erie, 2-0 (25-11, 25-17).
Ricklyn Hillmon led Humboldt with eight kills while adding a block against Belle Plaine. Junior Lakyn Meadows added four kills, while Skylar Hottenstein had four aces to accompany 13 digs.
Laney Hull chipped in eight digs. Against Eureka, Hillmon again powered Humboldt’s attack with 13 kills. Hull and Meadows added three apiece.
Hottenstein amassed 12 digs in the match. In the finale against Erie, Hillmon once again paced the Cubs’ front line with 14 kills while Hull added seven.
Hottenstein had three aces. Humboldt improved to 32-9 overall with the three wins and secured a top seed at Saturday’s sub-state tournament.
The Cubs will host a sub-state on Saturday and play their semifinal match against the Southeast Lancers. Southeast took down Douglas and Yates Center but fell to St. Mary’s Colgan in its regional.
The winner of Humboldt-Southeast will face the winner of Bluestem-Dexter with a berth to the state tournament and a sub-state championship at stake.
