Prep volleyball: Pipestone Area, Westbrook-Walnut Grove take tourney titles

LUVERNE - Pipestone Area came away with a narrow victory over the hosting Cardinals Saturday at the Luverne Tournament.
The Arrows finished the day with a perfect 4-0 record, winning two of their matches by the total points tiebreaker after a 1-1 split. Luverne came in second with a mark of 3-2 to take second place. Edgerton and Southwest Minnesota Christian both ended the day at 2-2.
The tournament champs opened the day with a tiebreaker win over SWC, dropping the first set 25-20 but recovering for a 25-16 win in the second. They followed that with a convincing 25-14, 25-10 victory over Vermillion (S.D.) to wrap up pool play.
In the Arrows’ first crossover match, they defeated West Lyon 25-17, 25-20. That put them in the title bout with Luverne. The Cardinals won a nailbiter in the first set, 25-23, but Pipestone Area came back with a 25-14 win to earn the title on total points in the match.
Luverne finished 2-1 in pool play. It opened with a strong 25-20, 25-19 win over Blue Earth Area before losing on tiebreaker against West Lyon as the Cardinals won their set 25-19 and the Wildcats took theirs 25-16. Pool play wrapped up with the Cardinals beating Edgerton 25-12, 25-16.
In crossover play, they started with a solid 25-18, 25-20 triumph against SWC. That earned them a chance to play Pipestone Area for the title.
Hailey Franken and Lexi Ferrell led the home team up front with 27 kills each. Ariel DeBeer had a nice afternoon with 168 total set assists. Katie Kracht and Madison Crabtree paced the defense with 50 and 35 digs, respectively. DeBeer added a perfect 35-for-35, seven-ace performance at the service line. Hailey Remme was good on 41-of-45 of her serves with Ferrell going 26-for-29.
A break after their opening-round loss to Pipestone served the Eagles well when they capped off pool play at 1-1 with a 25-19, 25-7 victory over Vermillion. They proceeded to lose against Luverne, but finished the day with a 25-21, 25-23 win against West Lyon.
Edgerton fell 25-13, 25-13 in its first match against West Lyon but came back to beat BEA 26-24, 25-12. The Flying Dutchmen ended pool play at 1-2 with their third-round loss to Luverne. In crossover action, they finished strong by winning the points tiebreaker over Vermillion. They took their set 25-14 with their opponents narrowly beating them 25-23 in the first.
W-WG Tournament
WESTBROOK - A great team effort is what propelled Westbrook-Walnut Grove to a 4-1 record and the title Saturday at its home tournament, according to co-head coach Sue Herding.
“The girls just worked really well as a team,” she said. “(Co-head coach Mark Takle) and I were so happy with how they gelled together.”
At the six-team round robin tourney, Adrian finished with a 2-3 mark while Fulda went 1-4.
The Chargers opened the day with a 25-19, 25-14 win over Fulda. That was followed by their lone loss of the afternoon, a three-set heartbreaker against New Ulm Cathedral. W-WG took the first set 25-18 but fell 25-19 and 15-10 in the second and third.
It bounced back in a big way, defeating Dawson-Boyd 25-11, 25-11 before knocking off Adrian 25-14, 25-21. That gave the Chargers a chance to play for the title against Springfield. They took care of business with a 25-20, 25-16 triumph.
Abby Herding was all over the floor in what was a stellar day for the senior setter. She finished 58-of-64 serving with 11 aces and put up 72 set assists. She also was second on the team in digs with 52 and pounded 22 kills.
Emma Woelber was good on 37 serves, nine of which were aces. She also put up 12 set assists and tallied a team-high 53 digs. Gracie Woelber dropped in five ace serves and pulled up 35 digs to go with seven set assists. Cassidy Mischke led the team in kills with 33 and had 38 digs while also dropping in four ace serves. Mariah Olson slammed 19 kills and finished with three solo blocks.
Adrian finished strong after a slow start to the day. It fell 25-16, 25-8 in its opener against Cathedral and dropped to 0-2 with a 25-9, 25-13 loss to Springfield. The Dragons got things headed in the right direction in their third match, where they beat Fulda in a three-set thriller; 25-11, 12-25, 15-9. After losing to W-WG, they finished strong with a 25-11, 25-8 win over Dawson-Boyd.
Fulda recovered from its tournament-opening loss to the Chargers by beating the Blackjacks 25-20, 26-24 in its second bout of the day. Unfortunately for the Raiders, that was their last win of the day. Adrian beat them in their third game before Springfield came out on top of a 25-14, 25-13 final score. The Raiders’ day ended with a 25-18, 25-16 loss to Cathedral.
Southwest Challenge
MARSHALL - Tracy-Milroy-Balaton took seventh place over the weekend after going 3-2 at the Southwest Challenge in Marshall.
The Class A No. 2-ranked Panthers opened the weekend with a pair of wins. First they took down LeSueur-Henderson 25-12, 25-18 before tallying a 25-18, 25-18 triumph over St. Michael Albertville. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of Class AAA No. 3-Prior Lake in a 25-17, 25-12 final score. They suffered a second straight loss when Marshall - ranked 10 th in Class AAA - came out on top of a 25-20, 25-15 decision, but they finished strong with a 28-26, 25-23 triumph over Class AA No. 4-ranked Kasson-Mantorville in the seventh-place match.
When the tournament ended, six of the top eight teams were ranked or receiving votes in Class AAA.
“It was great competition for this point in the season; any point for that matter,” said Panthers’ head coach Katie Gervais. “It is a great gauge for us to know what we need to improve on and these teams definitely exposed some weaknesses, but that is what we love about it.”
Kendra Ludeman finished the weekend 43-of-45 serving with 12 aces and pounded 22 kills. Gabbie Gervais was 38-of-42 with seven aces to go with 11 kills, 88 set assists and 24 digs. Sydney Lanoue led the team in kills with 43 and racked up 28 digs and four ace blocks. Kaylee Kirk was the defensive leader in the back with 51 digs while Evelyn Dolan stuffed six attacks.
Hayfield Invite
HAYFIELD - Red Rock Central took a close silver at a Saturday volleyball tournament in Hayfield.
The Falcons won every set against three teams in pool play before falling to the hosting team in the championship match. First they went up against Goodhue and won 25-14 and 25-20. LeRoy-Ostrander was next on the schedule and RRC had a quick victory, 25-15, 25-9. It wrapped up pool play by defeating Lyle-Pacelli 25-10, 25-21. The Falcons lost 25-17 and 25-11 against Hayfield to finish runner-up in the tournament.
Taylor Price led her team in aces with seven and she went 30-for-31 serving. Rachel Kedl had a perfect day of serving going 31-for-31 and Olivia Bittner was good on 25-of-28 of her serves. Kedl had the most kills with 23 and seven block assists. Kaitlyn Rindfleisch had 15 kills with four solo blocks and two block assists. Bittner also contributed 12 kills. For set assists, Mikaela Smith led the team with 56. Price picked up the most digs with 30.
Central Lyon Tournament
ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa - Harris-Lake Park went up against some tough competition and came away with a 4-2 record along with a third-place finish Saturday at the Central Lyon Tournament.
The Class 1A No. 13-ranked Wolves opened the day against fourth-ranked Central Lyon. The Lions were able to back up their high ranking with a 21-10, 21-8 victory. H-LP bounced back quickly, however, beating West Sioux 21-19, 22-20 and Ellsworth 21-1 and 21-12. That was followed by a tough, 21-17, 12-21, 16-14 loss at the hands of No. 15-ranked George-Little Rock.
The Wolves found themselves in another three-setter against Hills-Beaver Creek. This time, they came out on top, 17-21, 21-18, 16-14. That put them in a position to clinch third place with a 21-9, 21-17 victory over Newell-Fonda.
Grace Heikens finished the day 55-of-59 serving with nine aces to go with 34 digs and seven block assists. Kathrine Ihnen led her team in digs with 43, adding 19 kills and a 36-for-38, three-ace showing at the service line. Nichole Rowe missed only one serve in 33 tries, put up 52 set assists and 35 digs. Taylor Meyer led up front with 29 kills, four solo blocks and four block assists along with 19 digs and six ace serves.
The Patriots lost 21-13, 21-13 to Central Lyon but came back to beat Newell-Fonda 21-4, 13-21, 15-11. G-LR was able to hand them another loss at 21-6, 21-15 before West Sioux came out on top of a three-set nailbiter. The Falcons won the first set 21-11, but H-BC tied it with a 21-17 triumph. West Sioux finished the win by the slimmest of margins, 15-13.
Ellsworth to the hosting Lions 21-7, 21-10 before a 21-5, 21-11 defeat at the hands of the Mustangs. Newell-Fonda handed them a 21-9, 21-11 loss before West Sioux nipped the Panthers in a 21-15, 18-21, 15-13 three-set contest.
George-Little Rock took second place in the tournament. Aside from its bouts already mentioned, it defeated West Sioux 20-22, 21-12, 15-10 before knocking off Newell-Fonda 21-9, 16-21, 15-8. The Mustangs met up with Central Lyon in the championship and lost 21-16 in the opening set but recovered to take a 24-22 thriller that forced a rubber match. There, the Lions clinched the title with a 15-4 win.
Spirit Lake Tournament
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa - Sheldon finished the Spirit Lake Tournament with a 4-2 record and a second-place finish Saturday.
The Orabs opened with a 21-11, 21-15 win over West Bend-Mallard during which Bizzy Feekes put up 12 set assists and Sydney Iedema slammed six kills. That was followed by a 21-12, 21-13 loss to the hosting Indians. They quickly recovered with a 21-19, 21-11 sweep of Estherville Lincoln Central. Kacy Kamphoff finished the victory with four kills and Kelsey Van Aalsburg had eight digs.
That set Sheldon up with another contest against Spirit Lake. This time it went three sets, but the Orabs still ended up on the wrong end of a 21-14, 20-22, 15-8 loss during which Nicole Johnson put up 10 set assists and Bailey Elgersma tallied four kills. Feekes came up with 11 set assists again when the Orabs defeated Okoboji 23-21, 21-14. Kamphoff, Katie Wagner and Elgersma had four kills each with Iedema scooping seven digs.
They capped the day with a 21-9, 21-12 drubbing of North Union. Feekes set up nine kills with Iedema smashing six of those. Johnson dropped in six service aces and Maddy Tolk led in digs with six.
Sibley-Ocheyedan finished its day in Spirit Lake with a mark of 1-4. The Generals won a tight, three-set nailbiter over West Bend-Mallard 23-21, 21-23, 15-12 for their lone victory of the day. They lost to North Union 21-7, 21-13 and to Okoboji 21-8, 21-11. Trinity Christian defeated them twice, 21-14, 21-10 and 21-8, 21-15.
Jillian Bosma finished the day with 25 kills, three solo blocks and eight block assists. Jill Berkland led the team in digs while also pounding 22 kills and putting up seven set assists. Nichole Lowe added 21 kills. Megan Block had 58 set assists on the afternoon to go with three block assists. Megan Grimes went 27-of-31 serving with seven aces while tallying 28 digs, two solo blocks and five block assists. Erin Schwarzkopf went 38-for-40 with four aces and scooped 24 digs.