Photo by Samantha Davis: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton setter Brezlyn Buchert (5) puts up a set during a Red Rock Conference match against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda on Oct. 13 in Tyler. Buchert earned her 1,000th career set assist on Tuesday as the Knights swept Murray County Central at the 3A South subsection semifinals in Worthington.

This story will be updated with stats and details

WORTHINGTON — Brezlyn Buchert earned her 1,000th career set assist for the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton volleyball team as it took on the Murray County Central Rebels in the 3A South semifinals on Tuesday night. The top-seeded Knights finished each set stronger than they started as they earned a 25-13, 25-15, 25-12 sweep to return to the subsection championship on Thursday.

Buchert finished the night second on her team in set assists with 11, trailing only Dru Ellefson’s 26. Buchert also tied Paisley Thooft with a team-leading four ace blocks, followed by another three from Ava Karbo, and her pair of service aces tied Laken Baartman for a team-high.

After falling into a 2-0 deficit to start the first game, MCC started to heat up to claim an early lead. Kills from Kat Miller and Kaitlyn Blankenship, as well as an ace from Blankenship, tied up the set at 3 points apiece.

RTR came up with a block to get back on top, but a pair of kills from Suttyn Schryvers and a service ace from Avery Thovson gave RTR its first lead of the night at 6-5.

Schryvers came up with another kill to give the Rebels an 8-6 edge, but the Knights stormed ahead from there. Brynn Borresen came up with back-to-back kills, RTR’s first since Sara Thooft scored the game’s second point, and Ellefson pushed another kill across the net to give RTR a 9-8 advantage.

Thooft came up with another kill and Kaysie Serreyn and Borresen combined for a block when MCC called a timeout trailing 12-8. Yet, RTR continued to pad its lead with kills from Borresen and Thooft before Schryvers ended the drought with one of her own, bringing the score to 14-9.

RTR’s service shined down the stretch, with Baartman serving up a pair of aces while Buchert contributed another to bring the score to 22-11. Sara Thooft swung for a pair of kills, each responding to a Rees Gilbertson kill for the Rebels, before Paisley Thooft hit a set-clinching set to hand RTR a 25-13 win.

Sara Thooft and Karbo were a dynamic duo at the net all night long, finishing with 11 kills each, while Paisley added another 11. Sara’s nine digs were also a team-high for the Knights, followed by eight from Baartman and seven from Makenna Hesse.

The Rebels again scored the first points of the second set before a pair of hitting errors put the Knights on top. Schryvers picked up a kill to tie the set up, but Karbo got a kill and an ace block, while Paisley Thooft and Ellefson added an ace block and a kill, respectively, to bring the score to 6-2 when MCC called a timeout.

Paisley Thooft came out of the timeout swinging, securing back-to-back kills to pad the Knights’ lead. Calleigh Doeden ended the 6-0 RTR run with a kill, and a pair of kills from Schryvers helped the Rebels cut the deficit down to a pair of points.

Yet, Karbo and Paisley Thooft halted the Rebels’ momentum with a kill each, and Ellefson caught the defense off guard with a behind-the-back hit over the net instead of a set to bring the score to 11-6.

MCC remained between 3 and 5 points back of the Knights before RTR got its mojo back down the stretch. Back-to-back kills from Sara Thooft and a Baartman ace brought RTR’s lead to 16-10 when MCC called a timeout, and Serreyn and Karbo combined for a block to add another point. The Knights’ run finally ended when a back-row attack violation cut RTR’s edge to 18-11.

The Knights’ lead ballooned up to 10 points, culminating with Paisley Thooft and Borresen combining for the set-clinching block for a 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead heading into the third set.

Miller and Blankenship combined for a block to give MCC the first point of the third set, but neither team could pull away from there. The two teams alternated points back and forth until back-to-back kills from Paisley Thooft gave the Knights their first lead of the set at 5-4 and the first consecutive points by either team.

Peyton DeGreef re-tied the set at 5 points apiece with a kill, but the Rebels committed a service error and a hitting error on consecutive points before a Schryvers kill brought the deficit back to a single point.

From there, however, RTR took complete control of the set. One kill from Serreyn followed by two more from Sara Thooft brought the score to 10-6 when the Rebels called a timeout. Miller broke up the RTR run with a kill, but Karbo logged a pair of blocks and a pair of kills, Sara Thooft added another pair of kills, and Buchert served an ace to cap off a 10-0 run for the Knights before Doeden and Lila Scandrett combined for a block to bring the score to 20-8.

With the scent of victory in the air for RTR, the Knights didn’t ease up. An Ellefson kill and a Sara Thooft ace brought the score to 22-8. After 3 unanswered points for MCC, Karbo and Paisley Thooft each hit a kill to give RTR a 25-12 win.

The Knights will now return to Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall to take part in the subsection championship once again. RTR fell to Westbrook-Walnut Grove in last year’s 3A South championship, coming a year after the Knights won their first state title, but will look to return to the section final for the third time in four years this time around.

The Section 3A South championship is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at SMSU after the conclusion of the 3A North final at 5:30 p.m. The winners of those two matches will face off in the section championship match on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.