Photo by Kim Nelson Russell-Tyler-Ruthton middle blocker Ally Nelson tips the ball over the net during the No. 1S Knights’ straight-sets win over No. 8S Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in a Section 3A South quarterfinals matchup in Tyler on Friday night.

TYLER — It is tournament time and the top-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights are hoping to go far into the playoffs this year. They received a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the 3A South bracket. Their opponents on Friday night, the No. 8 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers, came in with some momentum after sweeping Hills-Beaver Creek in the play-in. The teams met earlier this year, with RTR winning in straight sets. But TMB is a team that has flown under the radar this year, and they have played some larger schools very competitively. So they were hoping to continue their season by knocking off the Knights on their home court. But the Knights have a talented, experienced team, while TMB has only three Seniors on their roster. In this game, experience won out, with RTR taking home the win with a sweep by scores of 25-8, 25-17 and 25-11.

RTR started out fast, running out to a 5-0 lead to prompt an early TMB timeout. TMB came back with the next two points, but RTR went on another 5-0 run to make the score 11-2 with Kyli Carter getting the only point for TMB with a kill. The teams traded points back and forth, with some good rallies and digs, but with the score 21-8 in favor of RTR, Tatum Hess stepped up to the service line and drilled an ace, followed by two more points, and ending the set with a Dilyn Werkman kill, making the score 25-8.

The second set was much more competitive, with the teams trading points early on. With the score 10-9, in favor of RTR, Gabi Borresen served three points in a row, with help from a Camry Swanson kill.

TMB came back strong and took the lead behind the serving of Piper Freeburg. She had an ace, and Allie Adams had a kill and TMB had tied the score at 12-12.

Avery Schreurs served six straight points to give RTR a lead of 18-13, with an Abby Carr block and two kills. Jordyn Hanson came back with a ace serve for TMB, and an RTR hitting error made the score 19-14, with RTR still leading. Laken Baartman then served three points for RTR, aided by two Abby Carr kills. TMB returned with a kill from Kylie Carter, but Breslyn Buchert served out the set with a TMB hitting error, giving RTR a win 25-17.

The third set saw TMB take a couple of early leads, with kills by Carter and eighth-grader Gretchen Lanoue. But RTR took the next four points, with two Ally Nelson kills and a Tatum Hess block and kill. The Knights went on to claim the set 25-11 to clinch the match.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton finishes its season at 9-21. TMB Head Coach Rick Haberman was very proud of his team’s efforts, saying “We played hard and stayed competitive throughout the match. Our Seniors were outstanding for us, and they contributed greatly to our success this season. Alivia Jensen and Jordyn Hanson were role players for us last year, filling in on the back line and front line wherever we needed them. They both improved greatly this season, and they provided some great play all year. Hailey Gernentz has been on the varsity since the eighth grade, and she has been our leader the last few years. They all showed great leadership for our younger players, both on and off the court.”

Gretchen Lanoue is an eighth grader, Allie Adams and Braelynn Kirk are Freshman, Piper Freeburg is a sophomore and Teagan Viessman and Brianna Duscher are Juniors, so the future looks bright for the TMB Panthers.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton improves to 24-6 with the win. The Knights will now face No. 4S Adrian-Ellsworth in the sub-section semifinals in Worthington on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.