TROJANS VOLLEYBALL: Trojan VB takes 1st at St. James Tournament

ST. JAMES — The Trojans volleyball team lost only one set in five matches on their way to winning the St. James Tournament Saturday in St. James.

The Trojans defeated Madelia 25-22, 25-13 in their first game of pool play before moving on to take down Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 25-13, 25-15 in Game 2 of pool play.

“Throughout the day we talked about serving tough and not getting beat on a roll shot, tip, or second touch attack,” WHS coach Melissa Schutz said. “The girls did a nice job of staying focused for such a long day and played their best match at the end.”

Worthington completed its sweep of its pool with a 25-20, 25-16 victory over St. James Area.

“Allie Bruns, Becca Linder, and Tara Svalland all had a good day at the net with closing and finishing blocks,” Schutz said. “Paige Gravenhof really put together some nice runs from the serving line. She had a stretch of 10 in a row against Madelia.”

The Trojans played Redwood Valley in the first game of the tournament finals, winning 19-25, 25-17, 15-10. With the win, Worthington moved on to play Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial in the championship game.

A 25-17, 25-17 sweep of LC-WM gave the Trojans a first place finish at the tournament.

“Lake Crystal is a good team and our girls were able to receive their serves well and keep them out of system,” Schutz said. “Brooke Henning was able to terminate a lot of attacks for us by mixing up her shots well. Overall the whole team really stepped up and played a solid tournament.”

Brooke Henning led the Trojans in kills with 33 on the day, while Tara Svalland had 20 kills and nine blocks. Becca Linder went 50 for 50 on the serve with five aces and 10 blocks with Morgan Harberts had 23 set assists.

Paige Gravenhof led Worthington in set assists with 47 to go along with a 45 for 46 night at the serving line and eight aces. Morgan Johnson picked up 18 kills, while Allie Bruns had 13 blocks. K.C. Riley had 49 digs and 12 kills, while Anna Koepsell had 51 digs.

The Trojans (13-6) host Jackson County Central Tuesday for a 7:15 p.m. game.

Ellsworth battles in

R-T-R tournament

TYLER — The Ellsworth Panthers won two matches and lost two matches at the Russel-Tyler-Ruthton tournament Saturday in Tyler.

The Panthers took on Lincoln HI in their first match of the day, winning 25-13, 24-26, 15-7.

Paige Meester had three blocks and five aces for Ellsworth, while Danielle DeBeer picked up four digs, five aces and five kills in the game. Hannah Mulder had three kills to go along with six aces and Brenna Kramer had seven set assists. Kadie Werner added four digs for the Panthers.

In Game 2, Ellsworth defeated Edgerton 23-25, 25-22, 15-12.

Alexa Huisman picked up three aces and five kills in the game for the Panthers, while Werner had three kills, two aces and five digs. Mulder added three aces and two blocks to go along with Kramer’s eight set assists and five digs. DeBeer added two more kills and three set assists to round out the offense.

The Panthers first loss of the day came at the hands of Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 25-21, 20-25, 15-12.

Mulder came away with four aces, four kills and a block in the game, while DeBeer had six digs, two kills and a block for Ellsworth. Meester picked up two more kills and added two blocks to go along with six digs by Huisman. Kramer chipped in eight digs and four set assists.

In their final game of the tournament, the Panthers took on R-T-R, but lost 25-11, 25-7.

Huisman had three kills and an ace for Ellsworth, while Kramer picked up four digs and three set assists. Mulder led the team in digs with nine with Werner adding four of her own. DeBeer also had two set assists for the Panthers.

Ellsworth heads to Mountain Lake Area to take on the Wolverines Tuesday.

Tags: sports, prep, volleyball, trojans, ellsworth