HALFWAY – Prairie City’s Lady Panthers had a weekend of ups and downs.

On the road, the Panthers defeated the Pine Eagle Spartans in two sets Friday and went on to the Crane Tournament Saturday, where they lost one match and won one.

In Halfway, Prairie City beat the Spartans 25-18 and 25-17.

“The girls played well, focusing on making a good pass so they can attack the ball over the net,” said head coach Louanne Zweygardt.

In Crane the next day, the Panthers lost their first match to the Crane Mustangs in two close sets, 21-25 and 23-25.

“Their serving was not as strong Saturday morning and in close sets like that it is enough to make the difference,” the coach said.

The Panthers got fired up again against McDermitt, winning in three sets with scores of 25-5, 25-23 and 25-22.

“We took the first set 25-5 with strong serving by Cassie Hire, who served 16 straight serves to finish out the set,” Zweygardt said.

She noted her team lost a little focus after the first set, but won the next two with close scores.

“We are going to be working on our ‘killer instinct,’ focusing on every point as if it was the last one of the match,” she said.

The Panthers host the Grant Union junior varsity teams this Wednesday at 5 p.m. and travel Saturday to the Baker Interleague Tournament, the time to be announced.