Bourbon High School volleyball team’s busy stretch of competition continued with another gauntlet of matches. The Lady Warhawks played three matches in as many nights from Sept. 21 to Sept. 23 before traveling to St. Louis Sept. 26 to compete in the Principia Round Robin Tournament.   

Bourbon defeated St. James and Grandview, snapping its losing skid, before falling to a strong Steelville squad.

Scores from Bourbon’s matches against Principia Tournament weren’t available in time for this week’s printing schedule and will be updated in next week’s edition along with results from the Lady Warhawks’ Sept. 29 match versus Plato.

The Blue and White are scheduled to play road matches Oct. 1 in Dixon and Oct. 5 in New Haven before hosting Belle Oct. 6 at Bourbon High School. Bourbon will then compete in the Oct. 10 Belle Varsity Volleyball Tournament.

Sept. 21 vs. St. James

After having one day off following a busy day of action in the Sept. 19 Cuba Varsity Volleyball Tournament, the Lady Warhawks traveled to St. James to take on a familiar foe, the St. James Tigers. The two teams each won sets against each other at the Cuba Tournament and Bourbon picked up its last victory Aug. 29 over the Lady Tigers in the Bourbon Round Robin Tournament before dropping 10 straight matches.

St. James’ student section brought playoff level intensity to the game, bringing unexpected energy to a matchup between two teams below .500. The match was highly contested throughout and Bourbon was able to squeak out a 25-23 win in the first set to take a 1-0 set lead. In the second set, the Lady Warhawks pulled away with a 25-20 victory on the backs of strong serves from Kenzii Withorn and Allie Sutton to lead 2-0.

St. James didn’t lay down facing a match loss, forcing a fourth set after winning a highly contested 26-24 third set. Undeterred, the Lady Warhawks bounced back in the fourth set to pick up a 25-17 victory to win its fourth match of the season and snap its 10 game skid.

Hailie Kahmke had 11 receptions, seven service aces, six digs and four kills. Kenzii Withorn added 14 receptions, 12 digs, eight kills and three service aces. Allie Sutton tallied 22 assists, nine digs, three blocks and three service aces. Lauryn Hercules had 16 receptions, 10 digs, four service aces and two kills. Sophomore Anslee Stubblefield led St. James with 17 digs and four kills. 

Bourbon’s junior varsity team also picked up a victory in the first series of the evening between the Lady Warhawks and Lady Tigers, earning 25-15 and 25-14 wins to earn a sweep and match victory in straight sets. 

Sept. 22 vs. Grandview (Hillsboro)

Bourbon returned to action the following evening in a road game against the Grandview Eagles in Hillsboro. The Lady Warhawks’ junior varsity team played first and earned its second straight victory in straight sets after winning 25-22 and 25-13.

Bourbon’s varsity team was involved in a close contest, but saw the same results as its JV squad. The Lady Warhawks won the first set 25-17 before winning 25-21 in the second set and picking up a 28-26 marathon set victory in the third frame to earn a match win in straight sets.

The victory was Bourbon’s fifth win of the season and second in as many days following a winless rough patch. Statistics weren’t provided for this match.

Sept. 23 vs. Steelville

The Lady Warhawks hosted the Steelville Cardinals for its third match in as many nights. The match up was close, especially in the second set, but Steelville was able to persevere and win in straight sets. Steelville defeated Bourbon 25-16, 25-23 and 25-13 to advance to 8-4-2 on the season and the Lady Warhawks dropped to 5-11-2 with the loss. Statistics weren’t provided for this match.