PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — The sister combination of Mackenzie and Natahsa Swiggum was too much to overcome for the Potosi volleyball team.
     The Swiggum sisters combined for 25 kills and led their North Crawford team to an easy 25–16, 25–17, 25–18 sweep of the Chieftains in Thursday’s WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal at Prairie du Chien High School.
     “Thursday night we were just out of sync,” said Potosi head coach Mallory Mau. “We had no energy or focus and we couldn’t get anything to roll our way. I’m still very proud of my girls.”
     A Maddie Hawes kill early in the opening game pulled Potosi within a point at 5–6, but the Trojans rattled off six straight points on the serve of Mackenzie Swiggum, a senior outside hitter.
     The Chieftains pulled within six points at 21–16 late in the set on a kill by Taylor Kennedy, but committed four straight errors to close out the game.
     An eight-point service run by senior libero Samantha Troxel gave North Crawford a commanding 11–4 early in the second game and the Trojans never trailed.
     Potosi pulled within three points at 14–11 on back-to-back kills by senior Liz Reuter, but three kills from Mackenzie Swiggum in a 5–1 run  helped the Trojans put game two away.
     The Chieftains hung around until the mid-way point of game three.
     Natahsa Swiggum had a block and a pair of kills in a five-point run as North Crawford turned a 12–10 lead into a 17–10 advantage.
     Reuter and Hawes each had seven kills to lead Potosi. Hawes added 14 digs. Kennedy chipped in six kills and senior Haley Flesch dished out 18 assists.
     Potosi finished the year 17–14 overall and won a D4 regional title after a second-place 8–4 finish in the Six Rivers West.
     “I thought we had a great season this year,” said Mau. “We made it farther than everyone thought.  It was exciting to make it to sectionals, but it would have been even better with a different outcome of the sectional semi game.”
     North Crawford (28–4) went on to defeat Cochrane–Fountain City in four games in Saturday’s Onalaska Luther sectional final to earn the school’s fourth trip to the state tournament, but first since 1996.
     The Trojans will now face Clayton in the D4 state semifinals Friday at 10 a.m.

WIAA Division 4 Sectional Semifinals
North Crawford 3, Potosi 0
(from Thursday, Oct. 31 @ Prairie)
Potosi                    16    17    18
North Crawford    25    25    25
Potosi stat leaders
Kills: Maddie Hawes 7, Liz Reuter 7, Taylor Kennedy 6. Blocks: Reuter 1, Kennedy 1. Assists: Haley Flesch 18. Aces: Kerrigan Stappert 2. Digs: Hawes 14.