Potter County News

Volleyball team competes in Redfield Pheasant Fall Classic


On Saturday, Oct. 5, the Battlers travelled to Redfield to participate in the Redfield Pheasant Volleyball Fall Classic.  This round-robin tournament involved both Class A and Class B teams from across South Dakota.  

Representing the Class A schools were Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers (14 – 4), Belle Fourche Broncs (6 – 11), Beresford Watchdogs (10 – 7), Groton Tigers (12 – 3), and Redfield Pheasants (11 – 4).  The Class B schools included Northwestern Wildcats (21 – 0), Potter County Battlers (8 – 7), Warner Monarchs (9 – 7), and Waverly-South Shore Coyotes (12 – 3).  This in-season tournament was also based on the best out of three matches with the tiebreaker going all the way up to 25 verses 15.

In opening play the Potter County Battlers faced off with the host team, the Redfield Pheasants, and they lost 19 to 25 and 10 to 25.  In the first set, the Battlers pretty much went toe-to-toe with the Pheasants because five of them tallied kills, but in the second set the most populated stat category was digs because the Battlers offense pretty much disappeared.

In the second match of the day the Battlers went up against a pretty powerful team, the Groton Tigers.  They won the first set 25 to 22 and they looked good.  They dominated the net, served well, and three of them recorded blocks – Jenna Robbennolt, Rachel Goebel, and Cassidy Goebel.  The second set started off hot as well for the red and white but the height and definitely the seasoning of the Tigers started taking over because they bested the girls 25 to 20.  The Tigers roster consisted of six seniors, four juniors, and two sophomores.  In the final set the Tigers cruised to a 25 to 18 win.  Defensively the girls played well in this match and leading the way with digs were Ashlee Kaup with 20 and KiTu LeBeau with 19.

The third match for the Battlers was the most exciting match of the day for them even though they lost in three sets to the Belle Fourche Broncs.  The Broncs bested them in the first set 25 to 20 but the Battlers proved they could hang with this heavily upper classman squad from this far western cattle town – five seniors, five juniors, two sophomores, and one freshman.  This feeling of equality could be easily seen in the second set because besides Jenna Robbennolt, Rachel Goebel, KiTu LeBeau, and Dakota Goebel all getting kills, the backline stepped up by seven of them recording digs.  But the most notable stat was Cassidy Goebel, KiTu LeBeau, Dakota Goebel, and of course, Jenna Robbennolt scoring blocks against this bigger team.   The Battlers won this set easily 25 to 19.  In the third set the girls hung with this Class A school up to 16 points apiece.  After that the Broncs eked out a win 25 to 23.  The loss hurt because Cassidy Goebel, KiTu LeBeau, Rachel Goebel, Jenna Robbennolt, and Dakota Goebel not only got kills but they threw up more block attempts than Ali did against Foreman, but again the Broncs got the points when it counted the most.

In the Battlers final match of the day against the Warner Monarchs the girls struggled, and they lost in two straight sets: 15 to 25 and 13 to 25.  The Monarchs have to be one of the best teams in the State for setting the ball because if they managed to control the ball on the first hit you could bet the bank that their third hit was going to be a hard crosscourt spike back across the net.  They also arguably play in the toughest Class B Region in the State because that is where Northwestern is also listed as well as Langford and Waverly-South Shore.  So, the Monarchs play in the middle of Volleyball Country and it is obvious that their skill level is high because at first look they are not impressive at all but when they hit the floor, they turn into a well-oiled machine.

The four losses were not fun nor appreciated by either the girls or the coaches, but yet, this tournament seemed to have propelled the girls to come together more as a team since they all had to step up their play because they were missing players due to injuries and illness.  It was obvious they forced themselves to push through the strain of playing 10 total sets within a six-hour period.  The only time they looked like they hit the cruise button was during the final set when the Monarchs got to 20 points and they were trailing by 10.  Hopefully, the girls can put the feeling of losing behind them and refocus to again get back on the winning side, which makes Potter County Nation a happy place.

Stats

Redfield Stats: Serving: 27 of 29 / 1 Ace: Leaders: Kirstie Lake – 1 Ace; Attacks: 42 of 53 / 14 Kills: Leaders: Jenna Robbennolt – 6 Kills, KiTu LeBeau – 2 Kills, Rachel Goebel – 2 Kills; Setting: 53 of 53 / 13 Assists: Leaders: Cassidy Goebel – 12 Assists; Blocks: 0 Blocks 0 Block Assist; Digs: 29: Leaders: KiTu LeBeau – 11 Digs, Haylie Ahlemeier – 5 Digs.

Groton Stats: Serving: 61 of 64 / 0 Aces; Attacks: 87 of 99 / 21 Kills: Leaders: Jenna Robbennolt – 9 Kills, Dakota Goebel – 5 Kills; Setting: 83 of 85 / 16 Assists: Leaders: Cassidy Goebel – 15 Assists; Blocks: 5 Blocks 6 Block Assist: Jenna Robbennolt – 3 Solos 2 Assists, Rachel Goebel – 1 Solo 1 Assist, Cassidy Goebel – 1 Solo 1 Assist; Digs: 66: Leaders: Ashlee Kaup – 20, KiTu LeBeau – 19 Digs.

Belle Fourche Stats: Serving: 63 of 68 / 3 Aces: Cassidy Goebel – 2, Kirstie Lake – 1 Ace; Attacks: 97 of 110 / 29 Kills: Leaders: Jenna Robbennolt – 8 Kills, KiTu LeBeau – 7 Kills, Rachel Goebel – 5 Kills, Dakota Goebel – 5 Kills; Setting: 85 of 85 / 22 Assists: Leaders: Cassidy Goebel – 18 Assists; Blocks: 3 Blocks 8 Block Assist: Jenna Robbennolt – 1 Solo 4 Assists, Cassidy Goebel – 1 Solo 2 Assists, Rachel Goebel – 2 Assists; Digs: 63: Leaders: KiTu LeBeau – 15, Ashlee Kaup – 14, Haylie Ahlemeier – 9 Digs.

Warner Stats: Serving: 28 of 29 / 2 Aces: Jenna Robbennolt – 1 Ace, Kirstie Lake – 1 Ace; Attacks: 45 of 50 / 5 Kills: Leaders: Dakota Goebel – 3 Kills; Setting: 44 of 44 / 3 Assists: Leaders: Dakota Goebel – 3 Assists; Blocks: 1 Blocks 2 Block Assist: Rachel Goebel – 1 Solo 1 Assist, Jenna Robbennolt – 1 Assists; Digs: 33: Leaders: Kirstie Lake – 8, Ashlee Kaup – 7, Cassidy Goebel – 6 Digs.

Warren LeBeau

POTTER COUNTY NEWS SPORTS

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