The Yellowjacket volleyball team, after a week-long break, returned to action this weekend, competing in the "River City Classic," which was hosted by the University of Dubuque. The Yellowjackets played a pair of MIAC foes as well as a pair of Dubuque schools and came home with a 2-2 record on the weekend.
Yellowjackets 3, Hamline 0
The Yellowjackets put a stop to a three-game losing skid with the shutout victory over Hamline, defeating the Pipers by scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-19.
Nikki Gosson (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) (Mankato, Minn.) had a big match offensively for the Yellowjackets, leading the team with 11 kills and an attack percentage of .474. Kitty Tynen (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) (Stillwater, Minn.) and Salann Gilbert (Solon Springs, Wis./Solon Springs) (Solon Springs, Wis.) had nine and eight kills respectively. The Yellowjackets had an attack percentage of .191 for the match. Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko) (Esko, Minn.) led the Yellowjackets with 19 assists.
Farrah Wirtz (Esko, Minn./Esko) (Esko, Minn.) had a team-high 11 digs and Rachel Langer (Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth) (Ellsworth, Wis.) had three blocks to lead the Yellowjackets defensively.
Coe 3, Yellowjackets 0
In Friday's second match the Yellowjackets didn't have the same luck they had in the first match of the day, and they were swept by Coe College by scores of 19-25, 16-25 and 22-25.
Gosson led the team in kills for the second match in a row with seven. Deadrick again led in assists with 21. Defensively Deadrick and Wirtz each had ten digs and Gosson had 5 blocks (2 solo, 3 assists).
St. Mary's 3, Yellowjackets 0
In Saturday's opener, the Yellowjackets were shut down by St. Mary's, falling by set scores of 22-25, 26-28 and 13-25.
Deadrick enjoyed a good start to the day for the Yellowjackets, leading the team in set assists with 23, as well as digs with 12 and blocks with three (1 solo, 2 assists). Tynen had nine kills to lead the Yellowjackets, while Gilbert and Langer had six kills apiece. The Yellowjackets attacked at a percentage of .129
Yellowjackets 3, Dubuque 0
The Yellowjackets closed out the tournament with a victory, taking down the tournament hosts in straight sets. Scores in the victory were 25-22, 25-16 and 25-13.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets put together one of their most complete matches of the year. Emily Kadlec (Mora, Minn./Mora) (Mora, Minn.) led the way with 12 kills, followed by Gosson who had ten. Deadrick had a monster match, finishing with 37 set assists as the Yellowjackets had one of their best attack percentages of the year, .282, with three players attacking at over .300. Kadlec led the way there as well with an attack percentage of .348.
On defense, Wirtz finished iwth a team-high 24 digs, while Langer added four blocks (1 solo, 3 assists).
With the two wins, the Yellowjackets have ten on the season, surpassing last year's total of nine victories.
All-Tournament Team: Junior defensive specialist Farrah Wirtz (Esko, Minn./Esko) was named the top libero at the River City Classic, making her a member of the all-tournament team. She finished with 56 digs in the four matches.
The Yellowjackets (10-8, 0-2 WIAC) are back in conference play and will host only their second match of the season on Wednesday, October 5 when UW-River Falls comes to Mertz Mortorelli Gym. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m.
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