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MARSHALL – When it comes to tournament or playoff time, you hear a lot of cliches’. Things like, “Take one game at a time”, “You can throw the records out”, “On any given night, any team can win”, and “We are peaking at the right time”. Well, all of those could apply to the Adrian/Ellsworth volleyball team, as they upset the #1 seed Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights in straight sets, 27-25, 25-16 and 25-21. The Knights were the #3 ranked team in the State, and they had high hopes of going for another State Championship. The Dragons were coming off an upset of #2 Westbrook/Walnut Grove on Tuesday night. It looked like a good matchup between two teams that were playing at a high level. All three sets were close, with the lead rarely getting more than three points on either side. But a buzzsaw by the name of Kamry Lehnhoff ran through the Knights defense for eighteen kills and several blocks to give the Dragons the chance to play the Minneota Vikings for the right to go to the State.
The first set saw A/E get the first point, then the teams traded points back and forth, and then with the score tied at 6-6, Sara Thooft had two kills to give RTR an 8-6 lead that was stopped by the first of many Lehnhoff kills. Again, the teams traded points until Makeena Hesse served three straight points to give RTR a 15-12 lead. But the Dragons came back with the next three points, finishing with an ace serve by Audrina Tiesler. The Dragons then took the lead by scoring the next three points, then the teams went back and forth. With the score 20-19 with A/E leading, they rattled off the next three points, forcing the Knights to call a time out. That stopped the momentum, and RTR went on a three-point run that was highlighted by a tremendous back-handed tip by Paisley Thooft and an ace serve by Sara Thooft. RTR continued the run, and they tied the score at 24-24. Again, Lehnhoff stopped the run with a kill, and but after a service error tied the score at 25-all, a Charlee Lehnhoff block and a hit out of bounds gave the set to Adrian/Ellsworth 27-25.
The second set started with the Dragons scoring the first two points, an ace serve and a kill by Lehnhoff. RTR tied the score at 4-4, but that was the last time the score was tied. A few great volleys saw A/E take and 11-8 lead, forcing an RTR timeout. RTR scored three of the next four points, but the Dragons continued their pressure to make the score 15-11. Two Sara Thooft kills and a hitting error bought the score back to 15-14, but a kill by Lehnhoff and an ace serve gave the Dragons a 19-15 lead. A Bryn Borresen kill made the score 22-16, but A/E scored the next three points to close out the set, 25-16.
The Knights scored the first two points of the third set, but a kill and a block by Jordan Kruger tied the score at 3-3. At 6-6, the Dragons scored three of the next four points, including another Lehnhoff kill and an Ava Brown kill. The teams were tied at 9 a piece when A/E went on a three-point run that was halted by a Borresen kill. RTR then went on a five-point run of their own, highlighted by a Dru Ellefson ace serve that tied the score at 14-14. Again, both teams had some great rallies, and with the score tied at 18, the Dragons scored the next four points. Sara Thooft had a kill to make the score 23-19, with the Dragons still holding the lead. After an RTR hitting error, Paisley Thooft had a block, followed by a Borresen kill, but the Dragons finished off the set and the match 25-21, setting off a wild celebration of the upset.
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton ends their fine season with 26-5 record, while Adrian/Ellsworth improves to 21-9. They will face the Minneota Vikings, who beat Central Minnesota Christian in straight sets, 25-20. 25-19 and 25-22. That game will be at SMSU on Saturday, November 7 at 5pm.