Prep Volleyball: Hutchinson topples Willmar in opener

HUTCHINSON -- Willmar returned majority of its lineup from last year. But so did Hutchinson after reaching the Class AA state championship.

The Tigers were too much for Willmar Friday as Hutchinson posted a 25-13, 25-16, 25-20 non-conference sweep in the season opener for both squads.

"We didn't start real well, but we ended well," said Willmar coach Terrin DeBoer. "We just struggled on offense and didn't pass well."

Returning All-CLC first-team pick Emily Minnick had eight kills in 20 attacks for Willmar, but no other Cardinal had more than four kills.

"It's hard to score if we can't get a kill," said DeBoer. "We played good defense, but it's the first game of the year so there are things to work on."

Minnick with eight and Riley Grussing with seven had 75 percent of Willmar's 20 ace blocks. Lindsey Atchison added three and Katie Lippert two.

Addy Nelsen served all three of Willmar's ace serves and Atchison paced the team with 13 digs. Casey Marcus added 10 digs and Grussing chalked up 13 assists.

The Cardinals have just two days off before hosting Minnetonka on Monday in another non-conference match.

Hutchinson 3, Willmar 0

Willmar 13 16 20

Hutchinson 25 25 25

(Key: good-attempts-aces)

Willmar

Serving: Addy Nelsen 8-10-3, Emily Minnick 9-9-0, Lindsey Atchison 13-13-0, Laura Swartz 4-5-0, Riley Grussing 4-4-0, Casey Marcus 8-8-0 ... Setting: Grussing 53-54-13 ... Hitting: Nelsen 16-19-1, Katie Lippert 5-9-2, Minnick 16-20-8, Atchison 17-21-4, Swartz 5-8-2 ... Blocking (aces): Lippert 2, Minnick 8, Atchison 3, Grussing 7 ... Digs: Nelsen 6, Atchison 13, Swartz 8, Grussing 7, Marcus 10

Hutchinson

Statistics not available