The Patriots traveled to Clark on Saturday to compete in the Clark-Willow Lake Tournament. The Patriots did not drop a set all day as they defended their title from a year ago. The Patriots defeated Waverly-South Shore by set scores of 25-8 and 25-7 and Wilmot by scores of 25-11 and 25-15. The Patriots ended up in the gold pool by winning the tie breaker over Webster.
In the gold pool, the Patriots took on the hosts, the Clark-Willow Lake Cyclones. It was a competitive match throughout. The Patriots won both sets by a score of 25-18. In the last match of the day, the Patriots would take on the DeSmet Bulldogs. The ladies made quick work in set one by winning 25-6. DeSmet didn't want to go away easily as they made game of it late in set two, but the ladies prevailed by a score of 25-16.
There were some nice performances through out the day from different players. Katelyn Schroeder tallied 29 kills on the day. Ella Johnson also had a great day, by tallying 27 kills. Rebecca Huizenga showed some power as she ended up with 16 kills. In addition to setting, Lila Johnson would tally 15 kills on the day.
Serving went way better for the Patriots as the ladies served over 90% in all four matches and had some long serving runs. Schroeder led the day with 9 aces and Gracyn Bixler tallied 7 aces. Cambree Hoekman also had a nice run in the Waverly/South Shore match and ended up with 5 aces on the day.
Both setters had a great tournament as Lila Johnson and Bixler had several great sets to their potent hitters. Lila finished the tournament with 52 assists and Bixler followed with 36 assists.
Defense was also on display all day as the Patriots had several great defensive plays. Hoekman led the team in digs on the day with 36 and Schroeder also tallied 30 digs. Our front row also had several big blocks throughout the day. Isabel Gilbert tallied 4 solo and 3 block assists. Rebecca Huizenga recorded 7 block assists, and Cora Hofer added 4 block assists.
It was just a great team effort throughout the whole tournament. The Patriots moved to 11-0 and will host Aberdeen Christian on Tuesday in Tulare. First serve will be at 5:15 p.m. with the Jr. High. 