By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The 18th seeded New York Mills Eagles came up just short in their bid to knock off 15th seeded Ortonville last Monday night in the opening round of the Section 6A tournament. With all of the teams grouped into the section tournament this year, instead of having a sub section tournament prior to the section championship game, the Eagles made the trek south to Ortonville in what proved to a close contest between the two teams.

Ortonville took the first set, which proved to be the closest set of the match 26-24, before edging the Eagles 25-16, 25-18 to complete the three game sweep. The loss ended the Eagles season with a record of 4-24 overall. 

Offensively, the Eagles were led by senior Annika Dunrud who finished with 10 kills. Ellyana Ruther and Chloe Costin each finished with three kills in the loss. 

Senior Gabi Vaden wrapped up her Eagle career with 14 digs to add to her career total that just recently eclipsed the 1,000 dig mark. 

Dunrud and Aubree Salo each finished with a team-high two ace serves, while Costin and Julie Seim tied for the team-high with nine assists. 

Four teams remain alive in the section tournament with top seeded Belgrade-Brooten-Elorsa taking on fourth seeded Hillcrest and second seeded Parkers Prairie facing sixth seeded West Central Area in the Section 6A semi-finals this week. The Section 6A championship game is set for Saturday at Fergus Falls High School.

SERVING: Annika Dunrud 8-9 (1 ace), Eliyana Ruther 2-2 (1 ace), Gabi Vaden 9-11, Chloe Costin 7-8, Aubree Salo 12-12 (2 ace), Abigail Berndt 5-7, Julie Seim 9-10 (1 ace)

KILLS: Annika Dunrud 10, Eliyana Ruther 3, Gabi Vaden 2, Sawyer Anderson 1, Chloe Costin 3, Alivia Preuss 2

BLOCKS: Annika Dunrud 3, Eliyana Ruther 2, Sawyer Anderson 1, Chloe Costin 1, Alivia Preuss 2, Alise Schornack 1

ASSISTS: Gabi Vaden 1, Chloe Costin 9, Alise Schornack 1, Julie Seim 9

DIGS: Annika Dunrud 8, Eliyana Ruther 3, Gabi Vaden 14, Chloe Costin 4, Abigail Berndt 6, Julie Seim 4