Lady Bulldogs Bounce Back in Sanford Pentagon Tournament

Things moved fast at the 34-team volleyball tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Saturday, September 24. The annual tournament crowned champions in four divisions.

Nancy Hoeke, head coach for the Lady Bulldogs, said, “Going 3-1, it was a very good day. It was a difficult schedule, playing four matches in four hours. Even so, we won the final match of the day in three. 

Milbank finished third in bracket play. The Lady Bulldogs beat Alcester-Hudson 2-0 and Winner 2-1, but lost to Howard 2-0. In the third-place match, Milbank bounced back to defeat Hanson 2-1. Florence-Henry won the division championship.

“I’m proud of the team for their efforts,” Hoeke said. “We continue to improve and show signs of being a competitive volleyball team.

Round 1 In the match against Alcester-Hudson, the Bulldogs won 2-0. Set scores were 25-20 and 25-14. 

Milbank hit 88 percent serving. They went 43 of 49 with six aces. Averie Engebretson and Emily Wollschlager were perfect. Engebretson at four of four and Wollschlager at one of one.  Addisyn Krause hit 12 of 13 with three aces. Rachel Schulte was nine of 10 with one ace and Hallie Schulte and Riley Overby were each eight of nine with one ace. Skyler Skoog went one of three. 

R. Schulte and Skoog each made seven kills. Claire Snaza had four kills. Overby, Engebretson, and Casside Seezs each had three.
Engebretson contributed 17 assists. Krause had two.

H. Schulte led the team in digs. She had 13. R. Schulte had nine. Krause, seven; Engebretson, six; and Wollschlager, four. Skoog and Snaza also had one assisted block apiece.

Round 2 In their match with Winner, the Lady Bulldogs took the round 2-1 with set scores of 25-20, 20-25, and 25-20. 
Milbank recorded a 93 percent serving average. They hit 64 of 69 with five aces.

H. Schulte went six of six and Engebretson eight of eight.  Krause was 19 of 21 with three aces.  R. Schulte was 10 of 10 with two aces. Wollschlager 12 of 13, and Overby nine of 11.

R. Schulte paved the way for the Lady Bulldogs with 11 kills.  Snaza had seven. Engebretson made four. Overby had three, and Skoog made two. Engebretson also added 14 assists and Krause had two.

H. Schulte again led the team in digs. She racked up 23. Krause added another 16.  Engebretson had 15. R. Schulte and Wollschlager each made 14. Abby Pillatzki, four;  Overby, three; and Skoog, two.Seezs put up three blocks, and Overby, Snaza and Skoog each had one. All were assisted.

Round 3 In the third round, Milbank went down to Howard at 2-0. Set scores were 17-25 and 22-25. The Lady Bulldogs showed solid serving skills. They hit 36 of 40 for 90 percent with three aces. Overby at seven of seven with one ace and Wollschlager at six of six led the way.  Krause was nine of 10 with two aces. R. Schulte hit seven of eight. Engebretson went four of five, and H. Schulte three of four.

R. Schulte was tops in kills. She had 12. Snaza had four; Skoog, three; and Overby, one.  Engebretson made 16 assists and Krause added another.
H. Schulte and Wollschlager tied for tops in digs. They each had 10. Krause had eight. Engebretson and R. Schulte had seven apiece. Pillatzki had six. Snaza and R. Schulte also each contributed a solo block.

Round 4 Milbank bounced back from their third-round loss to defeat Hanson in three sets. The Scores were 25-22, 22-25, and 25-17Their late-in-the-day serving average was 84 percent. They hit 49 of 58 with nine aces. R. Schulte chalked up eight of them.  

H. Schulte stayed strong at 12 of 12 and Wollschlager followed at seven of seven. Overby was eight of nine. Engebretson went 12 of 15 with one ace, and R. Schulte was 16 of 19 with eight aces.  Krause went four of five and Camryn Wiese hit two of three.

Skoog led the Lady Bulldogs with eight kills. R. Schulte had seven. Snaza had five. Laney Forrette made four. Engebretson and Overby each had two.  Pillatzki, H. Schulte, and Jenna Dexter each added one.

Engebretson tallied 18 assists. Krause had four; Wiese, three; and H Schulte, two. 

H. Schulte also made 18 digs. Wollschlager had 13, and Engebretson had 12. Krause and R. Schulte each made eight.  Pillatzki had seven; Skoog, five; Forette, three; and Dexter, two. Snaza recorded three solo blocks. Skoog and Overby contributed one apiece.

What’s next for the Lady Bulldogs? Milbank goes back on the road to face Deubrook Area at Deubrook Elementary School in White. The C team gets things rolling at 5 p.m. The JV plays at 6:15 p.m. and the Varsity team follows.