HUMBOLDT — Multiple area teams went head-to-head during the B&W Invitational over the weekend.
Humboldt finished third at their host tournament. The Lady Cubs fell in the semifinals to runner-up Baxter Springs 2-1 before taking the bronze after defeating Waverly, 2-1.
“We’ll see Riverton later this year, and unfortunately we didn’t get to play them today,” Humboldt coach Terry Meadows said. “We started off well, then we had a little letdown in the middle. After sitting for two hours, it was hard to get back into game mode, so we came out a little flat against Baxter Springs.”
Baxter Springs fell to eventual tournament champion Riverton, and the Lady Cubs received an unexpected challenge from the 1A Waverly Bulldogs, who came into the tournament on a six-game win streak, including a 2-1 victory over Iola earlier this month. 
After taking a 25-21 victory in the opening set against Humboldt, the Bulldogs looked to add another Allen County team to their wall of victories, but Humboldt had other plans.
“We just had to get our mistakes out of our head,” junior outside hitter Lakyn Meadows said. “If you make a mistake, move on and try to fix what you missed. It was weird playing teams we barely ever see and we’ll only play once. We were tired and it was rough playing five games before that.”
Humboldt hunkered down from there, taking the next set 25-19 and the third 25-16 for the third-place trophy. Meadows had a team-leading 11 kills, followed by senior outside hitter Ricklyn Hillmon with 10. Sophomore setter Bailey Daniels had a team-leading two aces, followed by freshman defensive specialist Brynna Elllis with one.
Defensively, senior libero Skylar Hottenstein had a team-leading 15 digs, barely surpassing Daniels’ 14 and senior middle hitter Laney Hull with 12. Hull and freshman opposite side hitter Adalyn Hillmon had one block each.
While Humboldt will keep the third-place trophy at home, that was far from the only piece of hardware handed out Saturday. Tournament officials named Hottenstein and Hillmon to the All-B&W Invitational Tournament Team, along with junior outside hitter Cayten Cummings of Yates Center and Crest High School senior setter Kinley Edgerton.
Humboldt has the rest of the week off and will return to the hardwood next Monday when they host Yates Center for a triangular on Sept. 29. The Yates Center Wildcats were 1-3 on the day and return to the hardwood Tuesday for a triangular against Altoona Midway and Southern Coffey County, who did not win a match Saturday.
Crest went 1-3 with a win over Yates Center. The Lady Lancers return to the hardwood Tuesday for a triangular at Oswego. Marmaton Valley picked up its only win Saturday against SCC. The Wildcats return to the hardwood for a Tuesday triangular at Northeast High School.
