In a battle of volleyball heavyweights, Lake Mills beat Forest City for the second time this season to win the North Iowa Conference Tournament.

After sweeping four teams on Saturday, the No. 10 (2A) Bulldogs continued their winning ways and beat No. 11 (1A) Bishop Garrigan in the semifinals and No. 11 (3A) Forest City in the finals Monday at Newman Catholic in Mason City.

Since the 2003 conference tournament, there have been 12 NIC Tournaments and 11 regular-season titles. Lake Mills has won 22 of the 23, said Bulldogs coach Jim Boehmer.

“That spans a lot of kids,” he said. “It’s bitter-sweet because it’s the end of the NIC and the end of our conference tournament.”

In the championship match, Lake Mills rallied for the win. The Bulldogs won Game 1, but Forest City won Games 2 and 3 and led 22-20 in Game 4.

However, Lake Mills fought back with a 6-2 run to win 26-24 and won the tournament with a 15-10 victory in Game 5.

“We played nine sets tonight, and for us to finish strong like that was important,” Boehmer said. “The girls know that hard work pays dividends.”

Next, Lake Mills (36-2 overall) will play at 6 p.m. next Tuesday at a quad at North Butler.