The North Crawford volleyball team took the WIAA Division 5 Southwest Region Champion with a five-game defeat of Barneveld Saturday.

After dropping the first game 14-25, the Trojans rallied to win the next two games by scores of 25-13 and 25-19. However, Barneveld was not ready to go home quite yet and rallied to win the fourth game 25-23.

With the match split evenly at two games apiece, it all came down to a deciding 15-point final game. The Trojans showed their championship mettle with a deciding 15-11 fifth game victory to win the match and secure the regional championship.

The Trojans benefitted from some outstanding individual efforts on the court starting with the great hustle of setter Bailey Stevenson who provided an amazing 64 assists. North Crawford was led in kills by hitters Mackenzie and Natasha Swiggum, who each recorded 18 kills in the game. Aubrey Stevenson had 10 kills and Emily Peterson had five.

Mackenzie Swiggum led the team in digs with 31, followed by Natasha with 27. Aubrey Stevenson had 14 digs while Samantha Troxel had 12 and Bailey Stevenson recorded nine.

Natasha Swiggum had 14 kills and Bailey Stevenson had nine.

First-year coach Anna Davidson was more than enthused by her team’s latest accomplishment. North Crawford in now the undisputed Ridge and Valley Conference Champion, as well as the southwest regional champion.

“In the last week, this team has come a long way,” Davidson said. “We’re leaving everything on the floor, showing a lot of heart, working together and not letting anything drop. We’re at a great place right now and have shown a lot of talent and dedication, but we’re still not at the top of our game. So, it’s only up from here.”

The Trojans travel to Prairie du Chien today, Thursday, Oct. 31 to take on the Chieftains in the first game of sectional competition. Last year, Potosi advanced to the sectional championship by defeating North Crawford in a tough five-game match 25-27, 25-22, 25-20, 23-25 and 15-10.