Photo by Sam Thiel Marshall’s Brielle Riess connects on a kill during their Section 2AAA tournament match on Wednesday. Marshall defeated Worthington 3-0.

MARSHALL — The No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Marshall volleyball team started its postseason quest on Wednesday, squaring off against eighth-seeded Worthington in the opening round of the Section 2AAA tournament. Thanks to a balanced offensive attack, Marshall quickly earned a 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-14) victory.

Marshall coach Dan Westby said they did a good job of taking care of the ball and getting multiple players involved and felt the connection between Maysa Gillingham, Taylor Ariasola and Randi Wendorff was especially strong throughout the evening.

“Sometimes those first-round matches can be a little bit dicey at times, but I thought overall our kids took care of the ball and offensively we had a lot of kids get involved,” Westby said. “Taylor and Maysa connected well, same with Randi and Maysa; those two kids should be able to put the ball away, they’ve played for an entire season now and they should be comfortable with each other and it certainly looked that way.”

Worthington gained an early lead in Set 1, taking the first two points of the match before Marshall got in front at 4-3 on a kill by Brielle Riess. MHS then went on a 6-2 run to go up 10-5 before building a double-digit advantage at 15-5. Marshall never looked back, ultimately taking Set 1, 25-10 and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set 2 saw MHS jump out to a strong start, as a pair of service aces by Caitlyn Christenson made it 8-3. The two teams traded points over the next few serves, but Marshall continued to maintain its lead, going up 15-6. Worthington battled back and drew to within six at 19-13, but six straight points by Marshall to end the frame gave MHS a 25-13 victory and a 2-0 lead.

The third set had more back-and-forth play in the early stages, with Worthington claiming a 3-2 lead before a kill by Tessa Gannott got Marshall in front at 7-5. MHS then used a 7-2 run to extend its advantage to 14-7 and controlled the pace the rest of the way, taking Set 3, 25-14 to earn the sweep.

Gannott led Marshall with 11 kills while Riess, Brooke Andries and Ariasola each recorded six. Christenson led in digs with 16 while Ariasola added eight and Cassie Hoover and Ashleigh Steinbach each had seven and Gillingham led in set assists with 27.

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Marshall (28-2) will face No. 4 Hutchinson at home on Friday at 7 p.m. Hutchinson defeated No. 5 seed St. Peter 3-0.

With only one day to prepare for the next round, Westby said they need to be ready to go right from the start.

“It was a good start and we’ve got a quick turnaround for Friday’s match,” Westby said. “I wish we had another day or two to prepare, but it is what it is and we’ve got to be ready to go Friday.”

Marshall 3, Worthington 0

Worthington 10 13 14

Marshall 25 25 25

Kills: Marshall (Gannott 11; Riess, Andries, Ariasola 6).

Digs: Marshall (Christenson 16; Ariasola 8; Hoover, Steinbach 7).

Set Assists: Marshall (Gillingham 27).

Serving (aces): Marshall (Christenson 21-21 (3); Gillingham 11-11 (1); Steinbach 8-8 (1)).