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SIOUX CITY – Calley Stewart, a member of the Midwest Elite 16’s Club Volleyball team out of Sioux City, Iowa, recently secured backto- back National Club Volleyball Championships. This year, the team won the inaugural USAV Championship in Columbus, Ohio, making them the first-ever winners of this tournament. The USAV bracket included 98 teams from across the country. Midwest Elite played 12 games over the three-day tournament, ultimately defeating a team from Texas in the championship match.
The Midwest Elite 16’s roster features players from South Dakota and Iowa, with Calley being the sole representative from Nebraska. The team overcame a challenging season marked by injuries, including three players from last year's roster who were unable to compete by the time the USAV tournament began. Calley herself showed great resilience, having recovered from a fractured back that sidelined her for nine weeks during the previous season.
This victory follows the team's AAU 15’s Club National Championship win last year in Orlando, Florida. Calley has played with this group for three seasons— one with Midwest Volleyball Power and two with Midwest Elite—under coaches Rick Pruett, Kam Smith, and Melissa Smith.
She is the daughter of Austen and Laura Stewart and will be a junior at Wynot Public School this fall.
Summer sports are in full swing in Hartington. As the weather heats up, so does the competition, with several area baseball and softball teams taking to the diamond last week. Pictured above are scenes from Hartington 8u baseball, Hartington 14u and 12u softball and Hartington Ponies games as local athletes delivered pitches, chased down balls, swung the bats and raced around the bases during a busy week of summer action.
Softball and baseball photos by Kellyn Dump
