PREP VOLLEYBALL: Panthers pounce on Rebels

LUVERNE — A well-balanced overall attack yielded the fourth three-set sweep of Friday night’s Section 3A South second-round high school volleyball tournament action at Luverne High School, as the third-seeded Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers knocked off the sixth-seeded Murray County Central Rebels by scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-11.

T-M-B (14-15) advances to play seventh-seeded Fulda in Luverne Tuesday night at approximately 7:15 p.m., while MCC ends the season with a record of 14-8.

“We had good balance and did a nice job of attacking inside and outside,” T-M-B head coach Katie Gervais said after the match. “We kept a lot of balls alive with our hustle and were able to make some adjustments against a good MCC team that also did several things very well.”

T-M-B broke from a 12-12 deadlock in the first set when Kate Johnston (12 kills, 16-for-16 serving) rattled off six straight service points — including an ace — to help give the Panthers a 21-13 lead. Ashley Daniels (13 digs, 10 kills) smacked two kills in that span, while Jenna Stoneberg (six kills, two blocks) also cracked a kill.

Sammie Gervais (12-for-13 serving, two blocks) contributed an ace block, and Johnston hammered a kill in the middle to help T-M-B claim a 25-18 opening victory.

The Panthers led 6-1 early in the second set, but MCC rallied back and took a 17-16 advantage. Kristi Bose (11 kills, five service points), Ashley Woldt (nine kills, seven digs), Makenzie Giese (seven digs) and Macy Halbur were among the major contributors at the net for the Raiders in that sequence.

Bose had two kills, an ace block and an ace serve, while Woldt added two kills. Giese chipped in with a kill and an ace block, while Halbur scored on a tip.

T-M-B, though, outlasted the Panthers down the stretch to earn a 25-22 win. Tiffani Karbo, who distributed 34 set assists, dropped in an ace serve to help T-M-B go up 2-0 in the match.

The Panthers then dominated the third set, storming out to leads of 11-1, 14-4 and 19-6. Ace serves by Kelli Soupir (15-for-15 serving with two aces, 14 digs) and Gervais, along with continued production at the net by Johnston, Daniels and Stoneberg, helped pave the way for T-M-B to finish the sweep.

Bose hammered three kills late in the match off of sets from Paris Thomas (19 set assists) for a couple of final highlights for the Rebels, but Daniels countered with two kills of her own as the Panthers won 25-11 to advance to the next round.

“We played pretty well in the first two sets,” MCC head coach Kati Bobeldyk said. “T-M-B controlled the third game, but I was proud of our effort. We had a good season and competed well right to the finish.”

Tags: tracy-milroy-balaton, murray county central, sports, prep, volleyball