Bellevue West pulled off one upset in the A-7 district volleyball tournament Wednesday night at Lincoln North Star, but Lincoln Southwest made sure a second didn't occur.

The Class A No. 7 Silver Hawks qualified for the state tournament for the sixth time in the eight-year history of the school with an impressive 25-14, 25-12, 25-15 win over Bellevue West.

Southwest (27-7) opened with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-10 conquest of Lincoln Northeast, then Bellevue West (8-26) surprised Omaha Bryan 26-24, 25-20, 25-21. Bryan fell to 23-10.

"I thought Bellevue West played great defense against Bryan, they definitely caught my attention," Southwest coach Mary Schropfer said. "I was worried they'd keep the ball alive long enough for us to make errors."

Her fears were never realized. The Hawks matched Bellevue West's defensive intensity and eventually overpowered the Thunderbirds in the long rallies.

Six-foot senior middle blocker Whitney Mason's 13 kills and four ace blocks paced Southwest's varied attack. Senior right side Miki Freese knocked down seven kills, while outside hitters Ashley Leitner and Sarah Faubel each had six kills.

Setters Jasmin Stonacek (21 assists) and Maggie Anderson (13 assists) fueled Southwest's 6-2 attack. Standout libero Mackenzie Ashton had 26 digs to go with three assists and a pair of ace serves.

The Silver Hawks ended the first set with a 9-1 run, and they rode that momentum the rest of the way. They built a 21-7 lead in the second set and were up 23-9 in the third before Bellevue West made a mini-surge against Southwest's reserves.

"I thought we clicked tonight, especially in game 2," said Schropfer, whose team beat Bellevue West for the fourth time this fall. "There was a lot of trust on the floor. Someone would step in and make the set if we were out of system and we were getting a quality swing on almost every play."

Sophomore Maggie Dailey paced Bellevue West in the finals with seven kills while junior setter Courtney Jurek had 14 assists, two kills and four ace serves.

"Coming back 20 minutes later after beating Bryan and readjust to play Southwest was tough," Bellevue West coach Laurel Derry said. "We're so young, we needed a day to specifically prepare for them (Southwest), but you don't have that luxury with one-day districts."

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.