MELLETTE – Northwestern used a balanced offensive attack to defeat Aberdeen Christian in Region 1B volleyball action Thursday night.
The Wildcats won by set scores of 25-16, 25-15, 25-19 to qualify for next Tuesday’s round of SoDak 16 where they will face Kadoka Area.
Northwestern received at least six kills from four different players, and at least two aces from four different players on the way to its third win of the season over the Knights.
Elexis Kramp finished with eight kills and three aces, Breelyn Sattler added seven kills, Lila Johnson contributed six kills and three aces, Taylor Vetter added six kills, Sophia Troske collected three aces, and Brenna Halverson had a pair of aces.
The Wildcats, who improved to 32-5 on the season, racked up a dozen aces in all.
Arianna Johnson topped Christian with a match-leading 14 kills. Jolie Fogarty followed with seven, and Reagan Jett added five.
Sawyer Schwan finished with two ace serves and 27 set assists.
The Knights ended their season with a 21-10 record.
“I’m just really proud of the girls and how they came out and competed at every match,” said Christian coach Sally Stoebner. “We had our highs and lows this season, but in the end we played together as a team. We will miss our four seniors.”
Serving: Aberdeen Christian 4 aces (Sawyer Schwan 2, Payton Skarin 1, Mia Ramirez 1); Northwestern 69-72 12 aces (Elexis Kramp 16-16 3 aces, Sophia Troske 12-12 3 aces, Lila Johnson 11-12 3 aces, Brenna Halverson 10-11 2 aces).
Hitting: Aberdeen Christian 31 kills (Arianna Johnson 14, Jolie Fogarty 7, Reagan Jett 5); Northwestern 95-104 33 kills (Kramp 18-19 8 kills, Breelyn Satter 21-29 7 kills, Johnson 11-12 6 kills, Taylor Vetter 26-29 6 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Christian 29 assists (Schwan 27, Skarin 1); Northwestern 103-103 33 assists (Johnson 77-77 26 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Christian 64 (Skarin 16, Ramirez 14, Jacie Fogarty 13); Northwestern 61 (Vetter 14, Johnson 11, Kramp 10, Halverson 10).
Blocks: Aberdeen Christian 2 (Johnson 2, Sophie Glynn 2); Northwestern 1 solo 6 assists (Kylee Henjum 1 solo 2 assists).
Records: Aberdeen Christian 21-10; Northwestern 32-5.
