Volleyball Finishes Weekend with Split at Viterbo Tournament

LaCROSSE, WI – The Waldorf volleyball team returned to the Viterbo V-Hawks tournament for two matches against (RV)Rocky Mountain and Trinity Christian on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors finished the day with a split, dropping the first match against the Battlin' Bears in three and then getting a sweep against the Trolls.

Rocky Mountain Set 1: The Warriors started off strong by competing against the Battlin' Bears by tying the game 7-7 from a kill by Charlotte Wright (SR/Porter, MN). Rocky then went on a seven-point run to take the lead. Waldorf struggled offensively and Rocky took the first set 25-18.

Set 2: The Battlin' Bears took a commanding lead for the start of the second set by going on a 6-0 run. Juliet Karlen (JR/Janesville, WI) stopped the run with a service ace and Anna Longhenry (SO/Fenton, IA) got a kill to bring the game within two. Rocky continued to make rallies and extend their lead to win 25-14.

Set 3: Rocky took an early 11-4 lead. Back-to-back kills from Emily Soukup (FR/Faribault, MN) and Wright brought the game within two points, 15-17. The Warriors did not give up and kept pushing with finding ways to score, but the Battlin' Bears secured the sweep with a 25-22 win. The Warriors finished the set with a team high of 17 kills and only one error.

Longhenry finished with a team high of 13 kills and Wright added seven. Reinya Balderson (FR/Marshfield, WI) and Emma Hovenga (SR/Forest City, IA) had 12 and 10 assists respectively. 

Trinity Christian Set 1: The Warriors got off to a strong start with three kills from Kenzie Kidd (SR/Roscoe, IL), and Alicia Brandt (JR/Lakefield, MN) and Longhnery added more to take a 7-1 lead. Balderson came up with back-to-back service aces to extend the Warriors lead to 18-9 before winning the set 25-18. 

Set 2: The set started in a back-and-forth battle trading one-point leads. The Warriors extended the lead to 11-7 with kills from Kenzie Kidd, Annie Stotlar (JR/Davenport, IA), and Brandt. The Trolls brought the game within two, but the Warriors finished the set with a block by Wright and Longhenry and a kill from Kenzie Kidd to win 25-19.

Set 3: The Warriors stared on top again to start the set with a 10-3 lead. The Trolls slowly fought back to only be down by one, 16-15, but the Warriors kept the lead to finish the set 25-21. 

"We finally put all of the pieces together and moved back into the win column. We have improved our game in a lot of ways, and it was nice to let it show," Head Coach Bri Ebenhoe stated. "Our offense came alive, and our serving was extremely effective. Now we get a couple days to rest before welcoming two more conference opponents to the Hanson Fieldhouse."

Kenzie Kidd finished with a team high of nine kills with 10 digs. Longhenry tallied seven kills and four block assists, Sydney Kidd (FR/Roscoe, IL) added six kills, and Wright had five kills and three block assists. Balderson and Hovenga had 16 and 12 assists respectively. Kaylee Kidd (SR/Roscoe, IL) led the back court defense with 19 digs.

Next up for the Warriors is a home conference game against (15)Bellevue on Thursday, October 19^th at 7 pm.