The surging Golden Hawks, ranked No. 10 in Class 3A, paid a visit to fellow River Valley Conference member, the Wilton Beavers, ranked No. 12 in Class 2A, on September 14. 

A conference matchup between the two teams who reside at the top of the RVC South, the phone was ringing for one of these teams to score a vital conference win and it was the Golden Hawks who answered the call. 

Continuing to stack success upon success this year, the Hawks earned a road victory over the Beavers in convincing fashion, 3-1, with final scores of 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 25-14. 

With this win Mid-Prairie (13-3) improved its conference record to 2-1 and for WIlton (14-4) this loss also gave them a conference record of 2-1. 

The first set proved to be a back-and-forth affair, with both teams providing an answer offensively after getting scored on. This continued until the score became knotted up at 16-16. 

From this tie the Hawks were finally able to separate themselves from WIlton, scoring five straight points. The point streak they went on proved to be the difference maker as they eventually won the set by five points. 

Sophomore Harper Pacha had an impressive offensive performance in this set. Her well-placed spikes proved to be too much to handle for the Wilton defense. 

Pacha ended her night with 16 kills, the second most on the team. 

A highly competitive second set awaited these teams with the set becoming tied, 23-23. Two straight kills by the Hawks closed the set to give them back-to-back wins and they threatened to close the match in a sweep. 

Shining in this set for Mid-Prairie was standout sophomore Jovi Evans. 

Showcasing her skill and power, one of her kills in this set made the ball bounce off the court with so much force one might think it had a one-way ticket to the moon. 

Evans had an exceptional night, ending the game with a triple double; 20 kills, 27 assists, and 22 digs. An all-around player, she is putting together a stellar season. This year Evans has the second most digs on the team (178) and leads the Hawks in kills (144) and assists (272).  

Wilton avoided the sweep by winning the third set, but Mid-Prairie responded to this loss with their most convincing win of the night. 

Taking control and never letting go, the Hawks began the fourth set by taking a 13-4 lead. Mid-Prairie’s fourth set defense was firing on all cylinders as they won the set and the match by limiting Wilton to their lowest point total of the night. 

A stalwart piece of Mid-Prairie’s defense, junior Dakota Mitchell led all Hawks with 32 digs. Forming a formidable wall both sophomore Katelyn Harland and junior Callie Huber led Mid-Prairie with five blocks a piece. 

In the serving department the Hawks had four players end the match with a 90% or higher efficiency. As a team they connected on eight service aces, with junior Lanee Duwa leading the team with three of her own. 

Up next for Mid-Prairie (13-3) will be competing in the South Tama Tournament on September 23.