Photo by Samantha Davis: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton's Ava Karbo goes up for a kill in the first set against Lakeview Thursday night in Tyler. The Knights swept the Lakers 3-0 in their home opener.

TYLER — In an aggressively defensive match by both teams, the No. 5 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton volleyball team prevailed for a 3-0 sweep over Lakeview in its home opener in sets of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-17, marking the Knights’ first win of the early season.

“I thought it was a good match. I would like us to play at an even higher tempo, and to play consistently at that high-tempo the whole time,” RTR head coach Daynica Brown said. “You can see those ups and downs, but in general, they controlled it. They had aggressive serves, were aggressive on the net, and the defense flowed well.”

RTR held onto its lead for a majority of the night, yet Lakeview continued to stay within reach. The Knights made it a habit to go on runs midway through the sets, making it hard for the Lakers to mount a comeback.

“Going into the season, we know we have to go four to five sets,” Lakeview head coach Alexis Lienemann said. “We have to be able to be confident in ourselves to go into four sets. They battled, and that just goes to show how much they have improved. I am so proud of them … I want them to compete with these teams, because they actually can.”

Laken Baartman and Brezlyn Buchert led the way defensively for RTR, with 26 and and 14 digs, respectively. Both Paisley Thooft and Ava Karbo shared a team-high 10 kills, and Sara Thooft had four service aces.

For Lakeview, Jersey Stensrud and Khya Gawarecki led the way with 13 digs each, while Taylor and Kiara Hinz both had eight. Kiara and Aubrey Nething had four kills apiece.

The Knights pick up their first win of the season after facing the two top-ranked teams in the Class A preseason polls by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association. RTR fell to No. 2 Mayer Lutheran on Saturday 3-1, and lost in three sets to top-ranked Minneota on Tuesday.

But, ranked fifth and on a quest to return back to the Section 3A championship after being eliminated in the semifinals last year by Westbrook-Walnut Grove, RTR made a statement in Thursday’s win to get back on the right foot.

“Honestly, you never want to lose. But with that, you have a ton of learning lessons. To play top teams and top in the class teaches you where you need to grow, and where you need to be better,” Brown said. “To get it at the beginning of the season, and to realize [early], ‘Oh, look at the glaring mistake,’ it’s just nice [to see] you have to work on this … You need teams that can expose those errors.”

Lakeview also opened the year against two ranked teams with RTR and No. 10 Wabasso.

The Lakers got their season started on Tuesday by winning the first set against the top-10 Rabbits, 25-22, before ultimately falling short on the night 3-1.

“It’s no excuse. This is what it’s going to be every single year. I’m just trying to instill some of my confidence into them, because they are so capable,” Lienemann said. “When we play top-ranked teams … [They] have to realize, yes, you can go out on the floor, and you can compete. Don’t settle.”

In a competitive start, RTR’s Karbo and Brynn Borresen both had four kills in the first set.

Lakeview’s Taylor Hinz and Allison Isaacs also had two each.

A kill from Lakeview’s Aubrey Nething, and RTR’s Dru Ellefson and Karbo got the game started early in the first set. The Knights extended to a 10-4 lead after spiking into an empty spot on the Lakers’ side when Lienemann called a timeout.

Ellefson had a team-high 18 set assists, and Buchert followed with 17.

Gawarecki had a team-high 12 set assists for the Lakers.

Lakeview, which it did on a few occasions throughout the match, responded well out of the timeout with two points to cut into a 4-point deficit.

Yet, Paisley Thooft stopped the run with a kill of her own as RTR embarked on a 7-1 run to gain a 17-7 edge.

Isaacs hit a pair of kills to help Lakeview score three consecutive points when down 22-15, but RTR found the momentum to finish off the set with two kills from Borresen and a Lakers’ attacking error.

“I think overall in that first set, we just had a lot of hitting errors. We had like seven hitting errors in the first 12 points,” Lienemann said. “I think the girls, they really do trust each other, and it’s the first time [this season] where they really faced that deficit [where] we’re down two sets. We have three more sets to go.”

The Lakers came out scoring the first 3 points of the second set, which Sara Thooft stopped with a kill to put the Knights on the board. They continued to tie the set up behind a block from Paisley Thooft.

Paisley Thooft, Borresen, Ellefson and Karbo all had two blocks on the night.

Kiara Hinz led Lakeview with five blocks, while Laia Javens and Isaacs had four apiece.

RTR again went on a run to build a 12-6 lead, yet a tenacious defensive effort on both ends continued to lead to several long individual sets.

Lakeview’s Javens and Taylor Hinz each had a block to help them stay within reach, down 18-14, but a serving error and block from Paisley Thooft built another barrier for the Knights.

The Knights’ blocking effort remained aggressive, accounting for two of their final three points along with a kill from Ellefson to take the second set.

“I think the girls did a good job [of blocking]. Lakeview was coming at us hard and swinging, which is nice because then you have to work and you have to put up a nice block,” Brown said.

“The girls were stopping a lot of balls … It was like one after another. Lakeview was scrappy in the sense of getting them off again after the blocks, but it was nice to see us to block again and block again.”

RTR came out red-hot to start the third set on a 6-0 run, and Lienemann called a timeout after a Sara Thooft kill.

Growing to a 10-1 edge, Lakeview fought back and went on a run of its own to eventually catch up to a 17-13 deficit to momentarily fluster the Knights, and forced Brown to call a timeout to regroup after a Javens and Nething assisted block.

“The passing was on, the defensive moves were on. Our setters got both five digs each and more, that was what we wanted to work on from Tuesday [against Wabasso], because we kind of got killed on right-back defense,” Lienemann said. “In our third set, our goal was to get at least 18 points, our highest points from each set. We didn’t quite get there … But, I am still proud of the effort.”

Out of the reset, RTR got its rhythm back with a kill, along with a Lakers’ serving and defensive error.

A Lakeview attacking error and kill from Paisley Thooft secured the sweep and finished off the night.

“They [RTR] have big goals and big dreams. It’s one of those things where you have to step up, and you have to lead,” Brown said. “When you’re dipping like that, you need to just keep going … Keep that drive and keep that focus. They were having that at the end, because they knew they had a finish. It’s one of the things we’re working on.”

RTR (1-2) will next stay home to host TMB (1-1) on Tuesday with a 7:15 p.m. first serve.

Lakeview (0-2) will remain on the road for the final of a three-game road trip to Murray County Central (0-1) on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.