MELLETTE – Aberdeen Roncalli made a strong early push, but ultimately dropped its season-opener to the Class B third-rated Northwestern squad by a 3-1 count Tuesday evening.
The Cavaliers went to extra points in the opening set and claimed the second set before the Wildcats ran off with the final two sets for the non-conference match victory, winning by set scores of 29-27, 23-25, 25-14 and 25-17.
“Sets one and two were extremely well-fought, and the girls never gave up,” said Roncalli coach Leesa Ware. “We talked in the locker room on things we need to improve on, and it’s errors and keeping momentum throughout the entire set.”
After those early battles, the Wildcats settled into more of a rhythm, ultimately finishing off the victory in relative fashion. Northwestern relied heavily on its service line, finishing with 16 aces in the win. Lila Johnson notched seven of those along with nine assists and 16 digs. Ashley Haven had 21 kills, three aces and six blocks.
Despite the loss, Ware was encouraged by her team’s effort to begin the season.
“The girls played well-rounded and very hard,” Ware said. “We just couldn’t find their holes or stop a couple of their hitters. We are looking forward to our match against Redfield on Thursday.”
Both Roncalli and Northwestern will be back in action on Thursday, with the Cavaliers hosting Redfield at the Roncalli Gym. Northwestern heads to Wolsey-Wessington in a battle of Class B squads.
Serving: Aberdeen Roncalli 74-87 9 aces (Rylee Voeller 17-20 3 aces, Cambry Feickert 11-13 2 aces); Northwestern 89-100 16 aces (Lila Johnson 18-21 7 aces, Ashley Haven 16-17 3 aces, Tara Blachford 17-18 2 aces).
Hitting: Aberdeen Roncalli 116-137 33 kills (Jillian Ellwein 28-32 12 kills, Voeller 38-43 9 kills, Gabby Thomas 18-21 8 kills); Northwestern 139-164 39 kills (Haven 60-66 21 kills, Breelyn Satter 25-30 6 kills, Johnson 12-14 5 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Roncalli 91-91 30 assists (Elyana Roach 86-86 29 assists); Northwestern 158-159 39 assists (Ella Boekelheide 99-99 28 assists, Johnson 46-47 9 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Roncalli 85 (Voeller 22, Feickert 19, Roach 16); Northwestern 88 (Blachford 16, Johnson 16, Boekelheide 15).
Blocks: Aberdeen Roncalli (Grace Cogley 2 solo 1 assist, Ellwein 2 assists); Northwestern 1 solo 14 assists (Haven 1 solo 5 assists, Kylee Henjum 3 assists).
Records: Aberdeen Roncalli 0-1; Northwestern 1-0.
