On Saturday, the Lady Wildcats’ volleyball team won the Silver Division of the Rolla Invitational.

“We knew going into this we were going to see many bigger schools,” said Coach Megan Russell. “We were not scared of this, and showed up not only ready to play, but compete with these bigger schools.”   

In pool play, Linn split with Rolla (Class 5), 22-25, 25-22, defeated Southern Boone (Class 3A), 25-22, 25-20, and lost to Washington (Class 4), 20-25, 17-25.

Linn won its first bracket game against Southern Boone, 25-23, 25-14, to reach the championship match against Owensville. The Lady Cats won both sets, 25-19, 25-22.   

Stats for the weekend tournament include:

Ace: Ali Russell and Nicole Grellner (7 each), Emma Rieke, Jorja Kempker, and Kylie Goans (4 apiece); kills: Carley Brandt and Grellner (22 each), Ali Russell (21),  Goans (19); blocks: Brandt (11), Nevaeh Ames (5); and assists: Grellner (45), Goans (29).

Russell was named the Central State 8 player of the week. Last week, she posted 15 aces in 59 attempts, had 32 serve-receives and 34 digs, and 24 kills in 59 attempts.

Linn lost to Tipton on Thursday, 21-25, 23-25, 15-25. 

“This was our first conference game of the season and unfortunately, we didn’t play our best volleyball,” said Russell. “Too many errors kept us from finding our rhythm.  It wasn’t the game we wanted, but sometimes, that’s just part of the process of growth. We learned a lot tonight about staying focused and responding to adversity.  We plan to use this as motivation to improve and bounce back.”

The team served very well, with a 97.5% rate of accuracy to go with 34 kills and 10 blocks.

In the JV contest, Linn won in three sets after dropping the first and winning the next two.

“This was an electric game to watch as the JV team rebounded with two intense and confident sets to take home the win,” said Coach Daniel Pauk.

Linn defeated Capital City in five sets on Monday, 25-17, 22-25, 15-25, 25-16, 15-12 .

“This was an amazing game by our entire team,” said Coach Russell. “We knew coming in they were a bigger school with a lot of talent, but our girls didn’t back down.   We focused on playing together, trusting each other, and executing our game. I’m proud of how disciplined and determined we were from the start, and even when we got down, we were able to battle back and finish strong.”

Overall, the team counted 11 aces, 92% accuracy from the service line, 49 kills, and 15 blocks.

Stats: Aces: Goans (3), Russell, Grellner, and Riley Kay (2 each); kills: Brandt (14), Russell (10), Kempker, Grellner, and Goans (7 apiece); blocks: Brandt (5), Ames (4); assists: Grellner (24), Kylie Goans (16); and digs: Kylie Goans (20), Kendra Robinson (16).

The JV team played a nail-biter against Capital City, losing 23-25 in straight sets. “We played some of the best volleyball of the season, and had some excellent takeaways,” said Pauk.