Lady Bulldogs Take Seventh at Montevideo

The Lady Bulldogs volleyball team secured a seventh-place finish at the Montevideo, MInnesota tournament on Saturday, September 6. Milbank won their final match of the day against Ashby, Minnesota, in their placing match.

“We were the only South Dakota school at this tournament,” said Lady Bulldog head coach Nancy Hoeke. “There were a lot of good teams there who play fundamentally solid volleyball. It was good to end with a win. The girls were determined to finish the day on a positive note. They kept their heads up and did what they needed to do to finish strong.”

Milbank won their final match 2-0 with set scores of 25-18 and 25-20. Jaecy Engebretson and Tracy Pillatzki led the attack with six kills each. Pillatzki was 8-8 hitting. Engebretson was 10-13. Pillatzki also was 2-2 serving. Engebretson dropped in five aces on 12-13 serving, had six assists on 12-12 setting, and collected five digs. Madi Thue attacked with four kills on 10-16 hitting. Amy Nelson chipped in three kills on 3-5 hitting, made six assists on 17-18 setting, was 5-6 serving, and had four digs.

The Lady Bulldogs started out the day with a 2-0 loss to Renville County West, MInnesota. Milbank fell with set scores of 16-25 and 18-25. “Renville’s quicker offensive style and tall setter were difficult to keep up with,” started Coach Hoeke. “We had a hard time reading what was coming at us.”

Pillatzki led the Milbank attack with six kills on 12-12 hitting and 4-4 serving. Engebretson followed with four kills on 10-14 hitting, 5-6 serving, and made five assists on 12-12 setting. Thue tallied two kills on 6-8 hitting, was 2-3 serving, and had five digs. Nelson contributed seven assists on 18-19 setting and had two aces on 5-6 serving. Cassidy Christians had one ace on 9-10 serving and six digs.

Milbank also faced a solid team from Lakeview, Minnesota. The Lady Bulldogs dropped 2-0 with scores of 12-25 and 15-25. “We struggled to get any scoring streaks going and had trouble scoring points,” said Coach Hoeke.

Engebretson led the team with five kills on 15-16 hitting and was 3-5 serving. Pillatzki made three kills on 8-11 hitting and 2-3 serving. Nelson ran the offense and contributed six assists on 18-18 setting and had one ace on 7-7 serving. Averie Engebretson went 14-14 setting with four assists, 6-6 serving with one ace, and had five digs. Christians led the Milbank defense with eight digs. She was 4-4 serving.

In Milbank’s final match in pool play, the Lady Bulldogs suffered a 2-0 loss to Litchfield, Minnesota, with set scores of 13-25 and 11-25.

J. Engebretson made five kills on 11-12 hitting, 5-6 serving, two assists on 5-5 setting, and had three digs. Thue tallied two kills on 8-12 hitting and was 2-2 serving. Nelson posted 11-12 setting with four assists and 3-3 serving. Christians was 8-8 serving and tallied nine digs.

Milbank will be back in action Thursday, September 12. The girls travel to Sisseton for a rival matchup. The C team begins at 5 p.m., JV at 6 p.m., and Varsity follows.