ROCHESTER -- The Minnesota West Lady Jays volleyball team came out of the Rochester Tournament with a win against Riverland, while losing three games to Madison, Ellsworth and Fergus Falls.
The Lady Jays started off the day with a victory over Riverland, winning 25-20, 18-25 and 15-13 in the best-of-three match.
"We started off really strong," MW coach Marie Johnson said. "The girls looked strong and were really excited to play."
Brittany Hulstein had eight kills and 16 digs in the game for the Lady Jays, while Katey Granstra added seven kills and one block for MW. Christine Kazemba also had seven kills with teammate Mara Eichenberger picking up 21 set assists in the game.
Jes Hermeling had four aces and Madie Rasche had nine blocks for the Lady Jays.
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Game 2 against Madison didn't go quite as well as the first game did for MW. The Lady Jays struggled to get points, losing both sets by double digits, 25-13, 25-9.
"This tournament had some really strong competition," Johnson said. "There were a lot of schools there that we don't see at all throughout the year."
Hulstein had four kills in the game for MW along with five digs, while Eichenberger picked up 12 set assists and two aces. Granstra added four kills of her own in the game.
The Lady Jays played Ellsworth in the third game. Once again, MW couldn't find a way to break through, losing 25-12, 25-17.
Granstra led the team with six kills in the game while also picking up one block for the Lady Jays. Eichenberger had 15 set assists, while Tiffany Gehl had four kills along with a block. Hermeling had two aces and Hulstein had 10 digs with Rasche adding another six digs.
The last game of the tournament for the Lady Jays was against Fergus Falls. MW lost the game 25-23, 25-23.
Granstra (11 digs) and Kazemba both had eight kills in the game, while Eichenberger picked up 23 set assists against Fergus Falls. Hulstein had a block and nine digs for the Lady Jays.
"Overall, I would have liked to get a few more wins, but it was great playing that level of competition," Johnson said. "We definitely have more to work on before the next game."
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The Lady Jays host Ridgerwater Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the WHS gym.
