Ellinwood, Cougars, Tigers sweep matches
State-ranked 2A Ellinwood (13-3) moved a giant step closer to a seventh consecutive Central Prairie League volleyball championship by sweeping challengers St. John 25-17, 15-25, 25-17 and Macksville 25-19, 25-23 in a pair of hotly-contested matches Tuesday. St. John (11-4) defeated Macksville (14-5), 25-19, 25-23 in eht third match.
LINDSBORG — Smoky Valley (15-7, 3-1 CKL) defeated Hoisington, 25-20, 25-19 in a crucial Central Kansas League showdown. State-ranked Cheney defeated Hoisington, 25-19, 25-17 and Smoky Valley 22-25, 25-21, 25-17.
CLAFLIN — Otis-Bison (12-7) captured a pair of key Central Prairie League matches with wins over Central Plains, 25-22, 25-23 and La Crosse, 25-16, 25-20. Central Plains (5-9) defeated La Crosse (8-8), 25-21, 27-25 in the third match.
LARNED — Central Kansas League leader Hillsboro (15-3, 5-0 CKL) defeated Larned, 25-8, 25-18 and Halstead 25-12, 26-24 to stay unbeaten in league play. Halstead (19-2, 4-1 CKL) defeated Larned (2-15, 0-5 CKL), 25-8, 25-18 in the third match.
COLDWATER — Red-hot Pawnee Heights (13-8) defeated Minneola, 26-24, 25-17, but lost to South Central 23-25, 25-18, 25-17 in a pair of Southern Plains Iroquois League matches. South Central defeated Minneola, 25-17, 25-9 in the third match.
STAFFORD — Norwich defeated Stafford (2-17), 25-12, 25-10 and Fairfield, 25-10, 25-15 in Heart of the Plains matches. Fairfield also defeated Stafford, 25-11, 25-23.