Photo by Kim Nelson: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton’s Tatum Hess goes up for a block during the Knights’ win over Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Tyler on Tuesday night.

TYLER — In a much anticipated volleyball game between two of the top teams in Section 3A, the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights played host to the Westbrook-Walnut Grove Chargers. 

The Chargers were coming off of their first loss of the season to a very good Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda squad following a 12-0 start and they were looking to get back in the winning column by upsetting the Knights at home. RTR had a good weekend of Volleyball at the Class A Showcase, taking third place in a very competitive field and only losing to top-ranked Minneota.

Both teams were up to the task, playing three close sets, but RTR came out on top by scores of 25-15, 25-21 and 25-15.  Each set was a back and forth battle, with some great digs, powerful kills on both sides, and great defense.

“We were coming off of a long weekend, so I was a little concerned that we may have a letdown.  And this is Homecoming Week, so that just adds to the distractions, but we stayed focused tonight and we were able to get a win against a very good Westbrook-Walnut Grove team,” RTR head coach Daynica Brown said. “They have some powerful hitters but we were able to get some good blocks.  Tatum Hess played with a lot of focus tonight, and she had a great overall game.  We played great defense and our hitters came out strong, as usual.”

In the first set, the teams traded points for the first several possessions, with neither team having a lead of more than three points. Natalie Wahl led the Chargers with some powerful kills to keep the game close, but she was countered by Ally Nelson, who had several kills of her own. Eventually, RTR was able to open up a 7-point lead after two Nelson kills, but Wahl answered back to keep WWG in the game, down 20-11.  The teams traded points for the next three possessions, then a kill by Dilyn Werkman put the finishing touches on a 25-15 RTR victory.

Nelson finished the night with 14 kills and four blocks for the night while Wekman added another three blocks. Abby Carr and Camry Swanson also contributed 12 and eight kills respectively.

The second set was another back-and-forth game with Abby Carr and Nelson doing damage for RTR, and Ella Knakmuhs and Wahl countering with some powerful kills of their own to keep the score close. Wahl served up 5 straight points to give WWG an 11-9 lead. Tatum Hess had kill, followed by a service ace by Brezlyn Buchert to tie the score at 12-12. 

Two Wahl kills gave the lead back to the Chargers, but RTR answered with two Nelson kills to give RTR a 17-16 lead.  Two more Nelson kills and a Gabi Borresen ace made it 24-21, and an error on a return volley gave the Knights a hard-fought 25-21 win. Borreson finished the game with 36 set assists and 13 digs, both team-highs. Laken Baartman and Tatum Hess also each contributed another 10.

Set three saw another close match, with neither team being able to get any long runs, mostly because of some great defense by both teams.  Not many balls hit the floor, and after a series of blocks and mishits by both teams, the score was tied 9-9.  Kills by Carr and Camry Swanson gave the Knights a2-point lead, but another kill by Wahl kept the Chargers close at 13-11. 

There were mishits by both teams, and then Borresen took over by serving seven straight points to put RTR at match point, but WWG was able to salvage game point. Werkman then put an end to the match with a kill, giving RTR a 25-15 win and a sweep over the Chargers.

For WWG, Natalie Wahl had a strong night, registering 11 kills, followed by Carlie Ross with nine and Ella Knakmuhs with four.  Macie Christians had 14 digs, Wahl had eleven and Abby Wiggins had eight.  Addeson Jenniges had 21 set assists for the Chargers.  Riley Parker and Natalie Wahl led their team in blocks.

“We are used to playing faster and smarter than we did tonight, but we just weren’t quite ready for them with the team they have,” WWG head coach Meghann Westbover said. “We know them well, we have watched them for a couple of years now. 

Things just didn’t fall out way tonight the way they have all year, but they are a great team and there is no shame in losing to them.  We have great senior leadership, and we will get back on track moving forward.”

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (14-4) has won 10 of its last 11 matches and will look to keep the heater going in a home matchup against Hills-Beaver Creek on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. Westbrook-Walnut Grove (12-2) will look to get back to its winning ways at the same time with a home match against Edgerton.