St. Joseph, Mo. (KFMO) – The Bismarck Lady Indians faced match point twice in the Class 1 State Championship before stepping on the gas pedal to stun the Winona Lady Wildcats with a five set victory to capture the state title, 17-25, 13-25, 27-25, 25-14, 15-10.
Bismarck sophomore Ayla Hawkins led the comeback late in the third set with three kills and a block in the final six points to keep the Lady Indians’ hopes at the program’s first ever championship alive.
Ayla Hawkins finished the five set match with 25 kills, five blocks, and an ace to lead all Bismarck hitters. Ashley Hawkins had a strong 17 kills, and three aces.
A 10-2 spurt from the Lady Wildcats closed out the opening set and fended off four straight ties through the middle portion of first set.
Winona again surged in the second set using an 8-0 rally to gain separation from 11-7 to 19-7.
The Lady Indians jumped to an early fourth set lead 7-1 and never trailed. The start sparked by kills from both Ayla and Ashley Hawkins. Ayla and Halie Dickey combined for another five points midway through the fourth set, and Ayla finished off the set with a solo block to force the fifth and final set of the match.
The game, scheduled as the final Missouri high school girls volleyball game of the season, featured the same two teams that met in the 2024 Class 1 Quarterfinal – a game that saw Bismarck force a fifth set, but come up short. Winona advanced in the playoffs and won the championship.
However, this year the fifth set would be different for the Lady Indians.
The Lady Wildcats scored first on a solo block by Williams, but Bismarck scored the next three. Winona tied the set at 3-3 and regained the lead after an attack error by Ashley Hawkins.
Bismarck coach, Chelsea Hennes, called an early timeout trailing 5-3 and her club responded by scoring 7-of-the-next-10 points to lead 10-8 and draw a Winona timeout.
The Lady Indians, again, kept the foot on the gass with a 5-2 closure of the final set. Ashley Hawkins collected her final kill as a Bismarck Lady Indian and her club captured the 2025 championship.
Coach Hennes says her teams found a way to get the job done.
Ashley Hawkins, Kinsey Hubbs, and Halie Dickey finish off their high school volleyball careers as champions. Hennes says they meant a lot to the program.
Kinsey Hubbs had 56 assists, and Loryn Pierson contributed 13 kills in the win.
Taylor Williams finished the game with 18 kills and 11 blocks, Sadie Kile had 17 kills.
Bismarck finishes off 2025 with a record of 39-3.
