Trojans pass first playoff test

WORTHINGTON -- One down, three to go.

Worthington's volleyball team swept seventh-seeded Luverne on Friday in the first round of the Section 3AA playoffs, moving one step closer to achieving its goal of reaching the state tournament.

The Trojans trailed just four times -- none by more than a point -- and cruised to a 25-10, 25-12, 25-7 victory, advancing them out of the first round for just the second time since 2003.

Second-seeded Worthington will face third-seeded Jackson County Central on Tuesday in Redwood Falls.

"I was a little antsy -- it was the last home game of my entire career," Worthington senior setter Anneli Dudley said. "But business is business. We had to do our job."

The Trojans were business-like from the start.

After Luverne scored the first point of the match, back-to-back kills from Martha Alwal and Holli Aggen sparked an 11-0 Worthington run.

The Trojans pushed their lead to as many as 16 points and cruised to a 15-point victory.

Luverne came out swinging early in the second game and eventually took a 4-3 lead on a kill by Mikki Fitzer.

Worthington put the clamps on, breaking off a 7-0 run that was capped by a vicious hit from Aggen that caromed hard off the arms of a diving Luverne defender and landed high in the stands.

The Cardinals eventually ended a 10-1 Worthington run, but they never closed to within seven points during the remainder of the game.

The third game never appeared to be in doubt.

On the first side-out, Alwal set a free ball to Dudley, who set it back to Alwal. The sophomore hitter skied for the pass and slammed the ball to the court, sparking a 10-1 run to start the game.

An Aggen kill gave Worthington an 18-3 lead, and the Trojans scored the final five points of the game to earn an 18-point victory and to extend their most successful season in recent memory at least one more match.

"I said to the girls, 'You have to take care of business,'" Worthington coach Melissa Schutz said. "It's the first step in four matches to get to state, and we just want to keep pushing toward that. That's our concern."

Now the concern shifts to JCC, which the Trojans swept at home on Sept. 18.

"What happened in the past is in the past," Schutz said. "We know they're a good team, and we're going to be ready to play a good team."

Alwal finished with 10 kills, two digs, two ace blocks and a set assist, and Aggen added 13 digs, eight kills, three ace blocks and three service aces.

Anndi Russell had six digs, four kills, two ace blocks and an ace serve, and Carrie Timmerman had 11 digs and three ace serves. Dudley added 19 set assists, six digs and two blocks.

Mara Dixon went 7-for-7 serving and added three ace blocks, two digs and a kill for the Trojans, who made it a point not to overlook Luverne.

"I think every team is a challenge because it depends on how we come out," Dixon said. "We have to focus mentally on every team that comes toward us. Any team can come out and be a different team."

It was the fifth consecutive win for Worthington (23-3), which remained undefeated in 11 matches at home.

"We love our home court," Dudley said. "We're undefeated on our home court, and that's really special.

"We came here to do our job, and we had to come through with it."

Sundra Xaphakdy had nine digs and five kills, and Kat Dahl had five kills and two solo blocks to lead Luverne.

Ashley VandeHoef added 10 digs, and Paige Olson had seven set assists.