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PIPESTONE – The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights took on Murray County Central Rebels in a semi-final round played at Pipestone. The Knights have been on a roll lately, but MCC was looking to pull off the upset. The #4 seeded Rebels were 16-10 coming into the match, but the #1 seed Knights are tuning up for a long run in the tournament. The match was a very competitive three sets, but RTR won all three with late surges in each of them by scores of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-14. It was close in the early minutes of each set, but RTR was able to close out the Rebels and move on to the next round.
MCC opened the scoring, and the teams took turns back and forth until RTR went on a four-point run to make the score 9-5. But a kill by Danyel Neilson, and a service ace by Avery Thovson made the score 12-10. RTR then got the next three points, highlighted by great save by Paisley Thooft that gave the Knights a 15-11 lead. The teams traded the next four points, but a kill by Kaysie Serreyn and a block by Sara Thooft made it 19-14. A block by Reese Gilbertson stopped the run, and a terrific block at the net by Jaelyn Bitker made it 21-16. But RTR closed out the set by getting the next three points to take set one 25-16.
The second set was pretty much a carbon copy of set one, with RTR jumping out to a 5-1, only to see MCC tie it up at 6-6 with kills by Gilbertson, Thovson and Addison Swenson. Then Mckenna Hesse took over, serving three aces in a six-point run by the Knights to make it 13-6. Once again, Gilbertson stopped the run with a great kill, but RTR took the next four points on two kills by Sara Thooft, who ended up the night with ten kills. Thovson added another kill, but RTR took the next three points highlighted by a sensational rally put on by both teams, with players on both sides making some great digs and saves. MCC got a point back with a Swenson kill, but RTR again won the final three points to take a hard earned 25-13 win.
RTR started the third set by taking the first three points, but MCC got the next two points. RTR took the next four points, including a Brynn Borresen ace. After a service error by the Knights, a Swenson block made the score 7-4. The teams traded points, but after a Katherine Miller kill, RTR went on another four-point run that was halted by a Miller block. RTR scored the next three points, ending with a thunderous kill by Paisley Thooft. With the score 15-9, a Paisley Thooft kill was followed by a great backhanded tip by Serreyn. Another service error by the Knights made the score 18-10, and teams traded kills by Gilbertson and Serreyn. MCC took three of the next four points to make the score 21-14, but Sara Thooft closed out the match with four straight points, including kills by Borresen and Jaida Fricke.
RTR Head Coach was pleased with her team’s efforts, saying “It was a great night for us, and there wasn’t a hitter that wasn’t on for us. It’s always nice when all of your girls are firing, and our defense was incredible tonight. MCC put up a really good fight tonight, but our hitters were very efficient. When they all are on, we are going to be tough to beat.” RTR libero Laken Baartman said, “We came out thinking about one game at a time for the playoffs. We wanted to play hard every single point and get after them. We wanted to get out setters to get everything there for our hitters, and they definitely did a great job of doing that.” Paisley Thooft, who ended the night with eight kills, said, “We need our team to not let down, because there are some great teams coming up that we have to face. Our goal is to get to the end, and we have to keep getting better and stronger as a team.”
RTR will now play Thursday night at 5:30 at SMSU.