As the volleyball season crests the midway point, the Plains Trotters have stealthily put themselves in the thick of the Western 7B conference race after splitting a pair of conference games this past week.

Last Tuesday the Trotters swept Troy at home, 3-0, then fell to league co-leader Eureka on the Lady Lions home court this past Saturday.

The weekend split left Plains with a 3-3 overall record and a 2-3 conference mark, good for fourth place in the competitive league.

Eureka and Thompson Falls are currently tied for the top spot in the 7B with 4-0 conference records.

The Trotters began their break-even week this past Tuesday by taking an early set lead against the Lady Trojans and not looking back. They won the first set of the match 25-12, then took the second set 25-11 to grab a 2-0 match lead. Troy did what it could to stay in the match against the Plains squad before falling in the match finale 25-16.

A pair of sisters led the way for the Trotters in their win over Troy, with Taylor Saner racking up a match-best 17 digs while her sister, Teagen paced the team with seven blocks in addition to her six kills.

The Lakko sisters also had outstanding games, including Claire Lakko, who recorded a match best 21 assists, while her sister, Blakely, had a team high seven kills and two blocks. Senior Melissa Young led the Trotters with six service aces.

Saturday afternoon the Trotters journeyed to Eureka for a match versus the league co-leading Lady Lions.

Although the Trotters put up a good fight, including a narrow loss in a back and forth third set, they were unable to slow the Eureka team, which swept Plains 3-0.

The Lions, who improved to 8-1 on the year with the win over the Trotters, took control of the match early, winning the first set 25-11. Plains reached for a higher gear and put up a better fight in the second set before falling 25-16 and putting Eureka within one set of the match sweep.

The third set was close the entire way before the Lady Lions managed to eke out a 25-23 win to secure the sweep and maintain their conference standing with Thompson Falls.

Kara Stanger had an outstanding game for the victors, serving up five aces, 11 kills and seven digs. Teammate Annie Vaughn also had a strong match for Eureka, posting a match-best 12 kills and 18 assists.

Teagan Saner had another good match for Plains, leading the team in kills with four and blocks with nine. Blakely Lakko paced the Trotters with two aces, while junior Lexi Deming had 10 digs. Clarie Lakko topped Plains with 15 assists.

Plains has a pair of home matches this week, with St. Ignatius coming to the Trotters gym tonight (October 3), and Superior arriving this Thursday. Both varsity matches begin at 7 p.m.