Knights slay Dragons in 3-0 volleyball sweep
Sep. 22—ADRIAN — Russell-Tyler-Ruthton earned a clean sweep over Adrian/Ellsworth in a volleyball match on Thursday.
The Dragons celebrated their homecoming court pre-match.
Both teams entered the match with winning records. The Dragons are 10-3 on the season — but fell twice to conference opponents this week.
The Knights — ranked fourth in preseason Class A polling — improved their record to 10-3 and are undefeated with four wins in the Red Rock Conference.
The game started evenly with Adrian/Ellsworth and R-T-R splitting the first four points at two apiece. But from there the Knights began to put their foot on the gas and dominated play at the net. The Dragons took a timeout down 12-5 in hopes to slow down the run.
But, R-T-R kept up the enthusiasm and put game one away cleanly 25-11.
"The girls played at a high tempo the whole time — (and) they went after it with high energy," said R-T-R head coach Daynica Brown. "It was nice seeing all of them — because we're a team through and through, there is not just one hitter."
In the second game, the Dragons found themselves ahead after Brylee Zebe had a solo block on the first point.
R-T-R responded with a seven point run to put themselves ahead 9-3. A key to winning points for the Knights was their effort put into scramble plays. One such scramble saw a Knight make a seemingly impossible dig inches from the ground to land squarely in a Dragon court which was ready to move on to their next serve.
"It was just great that we came after it hard because Adrian is a good ballclub," said Knights head coach Brown. "We had some scrambled plays that were fun to see because our girls can do it — and we do it a lot in practice. But it was those scrambled plays and then going over and there was a lot of them that they just didn't give up mentally. A lot of teams give up on those scramble plays, and the girls didn't and you know what? They got it over the net."
While the Knights are loaded with outside hitters who can truly spike with authority. They also possess great court knowledge on when to use misdirection and cleverness.
"I mean, it was just smart (play), not always a hard kill," said Brown. "I know that their Libero (Hali Bullerman) — who is a great player — was getting frustrated, because our middle was putting in a bunch of different spots, and then our outside hitters were coming at it hard."
One player who shined was senior setter Gabrielle Borresen. Borresen had a team leading 25 set assists and was called by her coach as the quarterback of the team.
"Gabi does a fantastic job, she facilitates and she goes after it," said Brown. "A lot of setters set to what is expected. (But) she reads the defense and knows where to set it. She puts balls to some of our hitters that the other team wouldn't expect and our team is smart enough to place it. ... Gabi just runs the offense very well — just fluid and you know when it gets into her hands she's setting up a great play."
By game three the Dragons began to show some fatigue. The Knights jumped out to an early lead and showed no sign of slowing down.
Down over ten points Adrian/Ellsworth coach Bobby Kunkel subbed in Summer Hoiland to serve for the Dragons. Hoiland won the Dragons three points — their longest scoring streak of the night — before R-T-R regained possession through a strong kill into the right corner by Camry Swanson. The Knights won game three 25-14.
Leading the Knights in digs was Avery Schreurs with 13. Abby Carr had 11 kills, Allie Nelson had eight and five blocks. Four Knight players registered two or more blocks.
R-T-R will play in the Midwest Volleyball Showcase this Saturday in Burnsville, Minnesota. Invited are some of the best teams in the state.
Adrian/Ellsworth will travel north to Edgerton on Tuesday to play Southwest Minnesota Christian. The Eagles have a 6-6 record.
