RTR snags first place at Class A Showcase
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No. 1 RTR, First place
BURNSVILLE -- After entering the week ranked No. 5 in the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association poll, the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights picked up wins against three top 10 teams to win the Class A Showcase and move up to a near-unanimous No. 1 ranking.
Avery Schreurs earned the nod as the Knights' tournament MVP while Ava Karbo was also named one of 10 all-tournament players at the event, which included 16 top teams in Class A.
RTR opened the tournament with a 25-22, 25-19 win over Ely, handing the Wolves their first loss of the season.
Schreurs and Laken Baartman led the Knights' back row with 12 and seven digs respectively while Brezlynn Buchert and Sara Thooft each contributed another six. Buchert also tied Ava Guida with a pair of blocks while Karbo led the team with five.
Karbo was also the team's leading hitter with eight kills. Buchert set up the RTR hitters with 18 set assists while Baartman served up three aces.
Buchert stepped up her setting game in the second round with 21 assists in a 25-17, 25-15 win over Bethlehem Academy on Friday.
On the finishing end, Karbo led the team with nine kills while Sara Thooft had another five.
Schreurs' 15 digs led the back row while Baartman and Buchert notched 10 and eight respectively. Baartman's three service aces were once again a team-high.
The Knights wrapped up pool play at the tournament against local rival Minneota, then ranked No. 4. The Vikings defeated the Knights in four sets when the teams met in Tyler on Aug. 27, but RTR got the last laugh this time around. After dropping the first set 25-15, RTR rattled off consecutive wins -- 25-21, 15-12 -- to wrap up pool play undefeated.
Karbo once again led the team in kills, hitting 10 for her highest mark of the tournament while Brynn Borresen and Guida finished with five and four respectively. Buchert tallied 20 set assists in the match.
Karbo's four blocks were also a match-high while Guida and Buchert each added another three.
Schreurs' strong play at libero continued with 14 digs while Buchert and Baartman added eight and seven respectively.
Schreurs earned her 1000th career dig as the Knights defeated then-top-ranked Mayer Lutheran 26-24, 25-12, 15-9 in the tournament semifinals. Schreurs had herself a game against the reigning state runners-up, tallying 29 digs in a rematch of last year's state championship win for the Knights. Baartman and Sara Thooft also added 10 and nine digs.
Paisley Thooft was the Knights' leading hitter in the match with six kills while Karbo and Sara Thooft added five and four. Karbo's five blocks were also a match-high while Buchert and both Thoofts added another block each.
Buchert spread the ball around effectively with 19 set assists in the match.
In the finals, RTR was matched up against New Life Academy, ranked No. 9 in Class A at the time and now ranked No. 3. In their third straight game against a state-ranked opponent, the Knights pulled off a 25-19, 25-20 sweep.
Buchert set her high-water mark for the tournament with 23 set assists while Paisley Thooft and Karbo led the hitters with 10 and six kills respectively. Sara Thooft and Brynn Borresen each added another five.
Guida led the front row defensively with three blocks in the match while Borresen and Sara Thooft each notched another two. Schreurs and Buchert led the back row with 11 and nine digs respectively while Brianna Patterson added another seven.
The weekend performance was a bounce-back effort for the Knights, who had been swept by Westbrook-Walnut Grove on Thursday. Now 13-5 on the season, RTR will look to pick up its sixth consecutive win when it goes on the road to face Hills-Beaver Creek (2-6) today at 7:15 p.m.
No. 5 Minneota,
sixth place
BURNSVILLE -- The No. 5 Minneota volleyball team won three of its five matches at the Class A Showcase over the weekend to place sixth among many of the state's top teams.
Minneota started out with a 25-22, 25-21 win over Bethlehem Academy and a 25-16, 25-20 win over Ely to open pool play. Yet, a 15-25, 25-21, 15-13 loss to No. 1 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton knocked the Vikings out of championship contention.
Minneota then defeated No. 8 Kittson County Central 25-19, 19-25, 17-15 before capping off the tournament with a 29-27, 16-25, 17-15 loss to No. 7 MACCRAY.
Abby Rolbiecki led the team defensively with 64 digs while Autumn Anderson and Nevaeh Hennen added another 30 and 28 respectively.
Hennen's 76 set assists in the tournament also were a team-high, pacing her just ahead of Libby Sussner's 51.
Offensively, Elivia Faris and Eden Meagher led the team with 48 and 47 kills while Leah Coequyt added eight blocks and 18 kills.
Minneota is now 10-6 on the season and will return to its home court today when it hosts Ortonville at 7 p.m.
No. 6 Canby,
seventh place
BURNSVILLE -- The No. 6 Canby volleyball team picked up a win over a top-10 opponent while losing to another pair of top-10 opponents as it finished 3-2 for a seventh-place finish at the Class A Showcase over the weekend.
On Friday, the Lancers overcame a 25-17 loss in the first set of their matchup against Spring Grove.
Libero Aliyah Rangaard led the team defensively with 14 digs while Brynn Kockelman added another 12. Kockelman's 16 assists also trailed only Emily Nelson's 17.
Karlie Wollum led the offense with 13 kills while Haley Noyes and Nelson added nine and six.
Canby followed up its opening win with a 25-16, 25-20 win over Kenyon-Wanamingo.
The Lancers once again spread the ball around effectively, led by 15 assists from Kockelman and another 10 from Nelson. Wollum was the team's leading hitter with nine kills, followed by Nelson with six, Noyes with five, and Kockelman and Grace Hansen with four each.
Rangaard tallied 10 digs for Canby while Kockelman and Nelson added eight and seven.
Canby's undefeated start to the tournament abruptly ended with a 25-22, 25-14 to No. 3 New Life Academy.
Nelson served up three aces in the losing effort. Her seven set assists also trailed only Kockelman's 11.
Wollum continued to lead the Canby hitters with eight kills and seven digs while Hansen added another four kills. Hansen also contributed a solo block.
The Lancers were faced with another challenging opponent when they took on No. 7 MACCRAY in their first non-pool play game. The Wolverines took the first set 25-19 before Canby bounced back with a 25-22 win. Still, MACCRAY won the tiebreaker 15-12.
Wollum was unstoppable at the net with 16 kills while Nelson and Kockelman added seven and five. Wollum's nine digs tied Jaryn Houseman for a team-high while her pair of blocks tied her with Noyes for second on the team behind Hansen's three.
Nelson and Kockelman tallied 16 and 14 set assists in the match. Nelson's seven digs also tied her with Rangaard for second on the team behind Wollum and Houseman.
Canby ended the tournament on a high note with a 25-22, 16-25, 15-12 win over No. 8 Kittson County Central.
Wollum recorded 15 digs in the win while Noyes and Nelson added eight and six.
Hansen was an extremely effective blocker with two solo blocks and an assisted block. Wollum and Noyes each also had a solo block while Noyes added an assisted block.
Rangaard was productive in the defensive back row with 15 digs while Wollum and Nelson each added another eight.
Nelson tallied 17 set assists in the match while Kockelman totaled another 14
Canby's record shifts to 12-4 after the tournament. They'll look to build on their play against quality opponents when they host Lac qui Parle Valley on Tuesday before heading out for a pair of road matchups against No. 7 MACCRAY and No. 5 Minneota.
Wabasso, 16th place
BURNSVILLE -- The Wabasso volleyball team dropped four of its five matches at the Class A Showcase over the weekend to place 16th at the tournament including 16 of the state's top teams.
The Rabbits opened against then-No. 1 Mayer Lutheran, falling 25-20, 25-15. The skid continued with a 25-21, 25-19 loss to No. 8 Kittson County Central.
After picking up a 25-15, 14-25, 15-12 win over Fillmore Central, the Rabbits lost to Bethlehem Academy 25-16, 25-19 and Kenyon-Wanamingo 25-14, 25-23.
Audrey Johnson led the team defensively with 36 digs in the tournament while Alivia Olson and Camryn Irlbeck added 25 and 22 respectively.
Irlbeck's 10 blocks were tied Amelia Bootsma for a team-high while Olson added another eight.
Sarah Carlson finished the tournament with 79 set assists.
Wabasso falls to 14-7 following the tournament and drops out of the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Having now lost six of their last eight matches, the Rabbits will look to find their mojo again when they host Cedar Mountain (4-2) tonight at 7:15 p.m.