LAMBERTON — The Red Rock Central Falcons played host to the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights on Tuesday night. RTR has switched conferences this year and they are now competing in the Red Rock Conference. RTR is coming off a strong performance over the weekend at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge, where they placed 11th overall against some stiff competition.  Red Rock Central has yet to break into the victory column, and they were hoping to get on track and pull an upset on their home court.  RRC has been hampered by injuries, having lost four of their six starters, which has forced the younger players to step up.  But against a talented and experienced team like the No. 4 Knights, they couldn’t get much momentum and fell in straight sets, 25-6, 25-12, and 25-5.

“After the Tournament this weekend, I thought we may have come out a little flat, but the team stepped up and performed well tonight.  We didn’t let down, and this gave us a chance to put in some of our younger players who hadn’t played much varsity, and it was good to see them gain some experience at this level,” RTR head coach Daynica Brown said.

In the first set, RTR started out strong, jumping out to a 10-2 lead, thanks to Laken Baartman serving four straight aces.  Red Rock Central wasn’t able to string together many points, and they fell behind 20-5.  Then RTR’s Sara Thooft stepped up to the service line and served up the last 3 points, giving RTR a first set victory 25-6.

The second set was much more competitive, with RRC taking a 3-2 on service points by Addison Irlbeck.  Abby Carr served the next three points for RTR, giving them a 9-4 lead.  Natasha Erickson answered back with three points of her own, before RTR started to pull away with a 10-7 lead. RTR continued their dominance at the net, and Avery Schreurs served out the last seven points of the set to give RTR a 25-12 victory.

The third set was totally controlled by RTR, not allowing any consecutive points by RRC, cruising together leads of 8-1, 11-2, 16-3 and 23-5 before Ava Karbo served out the final point, giving RTR a sweep with a 25-5 win.

“With our injuries this season, we have had to rely on our younger players to fill in.  Against a good team like RTR, it makes it tough to come in and perform well,” RRC head coach Brittni Baune said. “We have had to learn to jell as a team, and it is coming along, but our players play hard and they are gaining experience.  We need to get them used to playing the tempo of a varsity game.”

For RTR Gabi Borresen had 27 set assists, Avery Schreurs had 13 digs, followed by Laken Baartman with five.  Abby Carr and Ally Nelson each had three blocks, and Gabi Borresen, Camry Swanson and Dilyn Werkman each had one block.

Abby Carr entered the game just 22 kills short of 1000 for her career, and she finished the night with 13, followed by Ally Nelson with nine and Camry Swanson with 5.  From the service line, Laken Baartman had four aces, Avery Schreurs had two and Ava Karbo had one.

  For RRC, Natasha Erickson was 4/4 from the service line.  She also had four set assists, along with three from Addison Irlbeck.  Mikayla Weis had three kills, followed by Tia Donkersloot with two.  Abby Evans had two blocks on the night, and Mercedes Myers and Maia Scheffler each had eight digs.

RTR is now 7-3 on the season, and they will host Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda on Thursday night.  RRC falls to 0-5, and they play at Murray County Central on Thursday night.