Abigail Grabowska came out swinging and led Ipswich to a 3-0 win over the Lady Tigers at Mobridge-Pollock High School Gym on Monday.
Grabowska had nine kills in the first set. The got the visitors going and they never looked back, defeating Mobridge-Pollock 25-13, 25-15, 25-12.
“Yes, Grabowska did come out swinging,” said Coach Rose Henderson. “We had a lot of touches on her, but she swung so hard that our defense couldn’t get to the ball.”
Grabowska finished with 19 kills, part of a 39-kill night for Ipswich.
“They were a smart team that kept us on our heels,” said Henderson.
Allison Severson and Kamryn Heinz backed Grabowska up with eight and seven kills, respectively.
The Lady Tigers had just 14 kills on the night. Hannah Gushwa led the team with five. Molly Lahren had three.
“I thought we passed well. We just had a hard time getting the ball to drop for our hits,” said Henderson.
Serving was balanced in aces. Ipswich had four in 72 serves. The Lady Tigers had two aces, but served just 29 times.
Heinz led Ipswich in setting with 31 assists and added 16 digs, second to teammate Lindsey Grabowska.
Alex Steiger got an assist on 12 of the Lady Tigers’ 14 kills. Cassidy Moser led the defense with 19 digs, followed by Steiger with nine and Gushwa with eight.
“We had moments of brightness,” said Henderson. “We need to become more consistent at having them for longer periods of time.
Aberdeen Roncalli
The Lady Tigers started slow and never caught up in dropping a 3-0 match at Aberdeen Roncalli on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers tore past the Lady Tigers 25-8 in the first set. The girls closed the scoring gap and the night went on, but never threatened in dropping the next two sets 25-15 and 25-19. Roncalli kept the Lady Tigers on their heels with 17 aces and 29 kills.
Jadin Monsen led the Lady Tigers with five kills on 14 of 19 hitting. Kaycee Redmond led with two aces and added three kills. Jestice Talley had three kills on nine of nine hitting. Alex Steiger dished 13 assists and defended with 10 digs. Kassidy Moser had a team-leading 11 digs.
Mariah Winegar led Aberdeen Roncalli with seven kills and five aces. Emily Kokales served a match-leading eight aces. Jami Ewart led all hitters with eight kills.
Road matches
The Lady Tigers have two road matches this week. They play Sully Buttes in Onida on Thursday and Potter County in Hoven on Monday. They return home on Tuesday to host Linton-HMB.
The Lady Tigers and Chargers are playing for the 51st time. The Chargers lead the series 21-27-2 and have won the last six matches.
Monday will be the 62nd meeting between the Lady Tigers and Lady Battlers. The Lady Tigers led 32-29 in the rivalry after beating the Battlers 3-0 last season.
Linton-HMB leads the Lady Tigers 24-13 as the teams enter their 38th meeting, but the Lady Tigers won a 3-2 match in Linton last season to snap a 10-match losing streak to the Lions.
Mobridge-Pollock (8-14) 8 15 19
Aberdeen Roncalli (13-6) 25 25 25
Mobridge-Pollock: Serving 36-37, 3 aces (Kaycee Redmond 14-15-2); Setting 73-73, 13 assists (Alex Steiger 68-68-13); Hitting 69-82, 18 kills (Jadin Monsen 14-19-5, Redmond 12-15-3, Jestice Talley 9-9-3); Blocks 2 (Hayley Borah 2); Digs 45 (Kassidy Moser 11, Steiger 10).
Aberdeen Roncalli: Serving 63-73, 17 aces (Emily Kokales 27-27-8, Mariah Winegar 7-1-5); Setting 77-77, 23 assists (Megan Streier 63-63-19); Hitting 84-94, 29 kills (Jami Ewart 12-15-8, Winegar 16-17-7, Regan Reede 131-6-7); Blocks 6 (Allison Dix 2, Winegar 1.5); Digs 52 (Madelyn Martin 21, Streier 9, Kokales 8).
Ipswich (9-12) 25 25 25
Mobridge-Pollock (8-13) 13 15 12
Ipswich: Serving 68-72, 4 aces (Kamryn Heinz 27-27-1, Allison Severson 15-15-1, Avery Sylte 14-14-1); Setting 106-107, 39 assists (K. Heinz 72-72-31, Bailey Pitz 13-13-4); Hitting 85-96, 39 kills (Abigail Grabowska 44-45-19, Severson 16-17-8, K. Heinz 14-17-7); Blocks 1; Digs 83 (Lindsey Grabowska 22, K. Heinz 16, Chesney Olivier 14).
Mobridge-Pollock: Serving 28-29, 2 aces (Hannah Gushwa 6-6-1, Molly Lahren 2-2-1); Setting 68-72, 14 assists (Alex Steiger 56-58-12); Hitting 70-90, 14 kills (Gushwa 15-22-5, Lahren 5-6-3); Blocks 2 (Kaycee Redmond 1.5, Megan Zahn .5); Digs 55 (Cassidy Moser 19, Steiger 9, Gushwa 8).
JV Match: Ipswich 25-19, 25-22. C Match: Mobridge-Pollock 25-16, 25-20.