Prep volleyball: Willmar fights off Eagles

WILLMAR - Last-place St. Cloud Apollo gave Willmar a fight, but the Cardinals prevailed in five 20-25, 25-11, 17-25, 25-12, 15-6 on Tuesday.
“A lot of the time it was very ugly volleyball,” Willmar head coach Traci Grussing said. “We played really bad in two of the sets and normal in the other three. Hopefully we’re getting all the bad stuff out before sections.”
The Cardinals (11-1, 17-5) will play at the Moorhead on Friday before starting section play on Oct. 22.
Riley Grussing notched her 3,000th career set assist, piling up 56 Tuesday along with two ace serves, two ace blocks and nine digs.
Leah Ruter provided 27 kills, two ace blocks, three ace serves and 17 digs.
Dani Rosen added 12 kills and six ace blocks, and Esther Grussing had three ace serves, six kills and one ace block.
Willmar has won five of its past six, and the Eagles (2-11, 2-20) lost their ninth game in a row.
Willmar 3, SC Apollo 2
SC Apollo (2-11, 2-20) 25 11 25 12 6
Willmar (11-1, 17-5) 20 25 17 25 15
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
St. Cloud Apollo
Statistics not available
Willmar
Serving: Addie Erickson 8-9-0, Allie Roehl 18-18-2, Emily Chermak 8-9-0, Dani Rosen 2-3-0, Esther Grussing 9-12-3, Jamie Reyes 10-11-0, Leah Ruter 13-15-3, Riley Grussing 18-19-2, Sarah Smith 6-7-1 … Set assists: R. Grussing 56 … Hitting: Cami Sletta 9-11-6, Catelyn Haug 4-8-2, Rosen 30-34-12, E. Grussing 17-21-6, Ruter 49-53-27, Smith 11-13-7 … Blocking (aces): Sletta 1, Haug 1, Rosen 6, E. Grussing 1, Ruter 2, R. Grussing 2, Smith 3 … Digs (5 or more): R. Grussing 9, Ruter 17, Reyes 12, E. Grussing 5, Roehl 28