WOODWARD — The quest for a fifth West Central Conference crown in the past six years — and a third consecutive title — began in emphatic fashion Tuesday as Class 2A No. 8 Woodward-Granger blew past West Central Valley, 3-0.
The Hawks were victorious behind scores of 25-6, 25-16 and 25-6 and, as the scores indicate, were in command throughout.
W-G (4-3, 1-0) started slowly and held only a 5-4 lead early in the first set. From that point on they controlled all aspects, racing to leads of 15-4 and 21-5 before finishing off the set, 25-6. The Hawks trailed once in the second set, grabbing an 11-10 lead and turning that into a 21-13 lead before posting the 25-16 win. Rarely challenged in the third set, the hosts ran off two long strings of consecutive points for a 25-6 win to end the match.
Olivia McCune had 14 kills and Mary Hansen 12 to lead the offense, with Bree Lesch adding six kills, Julie Pitman three and Alyssa Bice two. Pitman had the lone block in the win.
Bice distributed 21 assists and Hansen 10, with Kara Bodensteiner, Hansen and Lesch each recording six digs.
McCune was 21-of-23 serving with five aces, with Riley Kirton 10-of-11 with four aces. Bodensteiner was 11-11-2 behind the line and Lesch 13-14-2, with Bice 10-10-2 and Hansen 6-6-1.
W-G will participate in the ADM tournament Thursday, with the first matches starting at 4 p.m. The Hawks will host Earlham Tuesday, then make the long trip to play in the North Scott Tournament Sept. 10.
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