MANKATO -- The Trojans volleyball team went 3-2 in the Mankato West Invitational Saturday in Mankato, picking up wins against Austin, New Richland-H-E-G and Minnesota Valley Lutheran, and losing to Winona and Martin County West.
Worthington's first game was against eventual tournament champion Winona, where the Trojans lost on total points, 33-31, 17-25.
"The first game was a big test," WHS coach Melissa Schutz said. "Winona is a really good all around team. We were the only team to take a set from them in the whole tournament."
The second game for the Trojans came against Austin. Worthington won that match-up 25-12, 25-9 for their first win of the day.
"It was nice to come out and play strong," Schutz said. "Our defense improved a lot since last week."
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Worthington picked up its second win over New Richland-H-E-G, winning on points 25-9, 20-25. With the win, the Trojans took second in their pool and moved on to the Silver Bracket of the tournament.
"Our serve/reception was outstanding Saturday," Schutz said. "The defense was quick and just solid all around. They made the right decisions at the right times throughout all the games."
The Trojans won their opener in the Silver Bracket, taking down Minnesota Valley Lutheran 25-19, 25-23. However, Worthington could not get past Martin County West, losing 18-25, 21-25.
K.C. Riley was 57-for-65 on the serve with six aces and 35 digs, while Brooke Henning went 39-for-41, also with six aces, to go along with her team leading 28 kills and four blocks on the day for the Trojans. Emily Clark was 41-for-44 on the serve with another four aces along with picking up 21 digs, while Becca Linder smashed 11 kills and came up with 10 blocks.
"We were able to get teams out of their systems on the attack," Schutz said. "The girls have turned a corner now. You could really tell they were enjoying playing volleyball. They just want to keep improving and keep playing at a high level."
The Trojans (6-4, 0-1) travel to Jeffers today for a 7:30 p.m. match-up against Red Rock Central.
Windom falls to Winona in championship game
MANKATO -- The Windom Eagles volleyball team swept their pool at the Mankato West Invitational and made it all the way to the championship game before losing to Winona.
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Windom won their first game against Mankato East 26-24, 25-7, before winning on points against Sibley East 25-15, 18-25. The last game of pool play was against Martin County West, who the Eagles took down 26-24, 25-9 to advance to the Gold Bracket of the tournament.
In the opening round of the Gold Bracket, Windom faced off against Mankato West, beating them 27-25, 25-20 to advance to the championship. The Eagles couldn't beat Winona, eventually losing 25-19, 25-19.
Hali Tasler went 48-for-49 on the serve with 15 aces to go along with her 31 kills and 37 digs over the course of the day for the Eagles, while Jasmine Carlson (38-for41, five aces) picked up another 38 digs. Holly Larson had 11 blocks and 26 kills for Windom, while Shelby Mattson picked up eight blocks and 46 set assists.
Windom (6-1) plays today at 7:30 p.m. at St. James.
W-WG takes first at Westbrook Invitational
WESTBROOK -- The Westbrook-Walnut Grove volleyball team took first place in their home tournament Saturday, beating Fulda, Lincoln HI, Lakeview, Adrian and New Ulm Cathedral on the way to becoming champions.
The Chargers took on Fulda in their opening match, defeating the Raiders 25-14, 25-16 in the best-of-three game. In their next game, W-WG beat Lincoln HI 25-7, 25-20 for their second win on the day.
The next game for the Chargers came against Lakeview, who they defeated 25-17, 25-17. The team then took on Adrian, where the Chargers were forced into a third set for the first time in the tournament. W-WG won the game 25-14, 21-25, 15-6.
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In the last game of the day, the Chargers took down New Ulm Catherdral, 25-13, 25-12 to secure the championship title.
Abby Herding had 73 set assists on the day along with 13 kills, 23 digs and 10 aces for the Chargers. Paige Erickson had 26 kills and added another 13 aces of her own as well as picking up 21 digs. Dayna Comnick had 24 kills, one block, seven aces and 29 digs to help the Chargers sweep their home tournament.
W-WG (7-1) travels to Springfield today for a 7 p.m. game before heading to Hills to take on Hills-Beaver Creek on Thursday.
