ON THE UP AND UP

In The first week of competition, the South Central Calhoun volleyball team had a trial by fire. Despite a 2-5 record, the Titans – a squad consisting of a multitude of juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen – were competitive.

It was only a matter of time before the Titans could convert those close losses into victories. This past week, that conversion came much sooner than later.

Starting the Twin Lakes Conference slate last Thursday, the Titans put the brooms to GTRA and St. Mary’s of Storm Lake, winning a pair of 3-0 matches at the Panther Pit in Storm Lake.

SCC built on that momentum, sweeping through the “Early Bird” Tournament, which took place this past Saturday at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City. The Titans cruised past Audubon, Perry and Belmond-Klemme, before rallying past Manson-Northwest Webster and soundly beating Spencer in the tournament final.

Over the course of the tournament, junior Riley Batta racked up 42 kills, 16 digs, five service aces, three assists and two blocks. Junior Keira Hammen accumulated 18 kills, seven blocks, two service aces, an assist and one dig.

Freshman Jayci Graeve collected a staggering 59 assists, seven service aces, six kills, two digs and one block. Teammate Brenna McAlister put together 16 kills, 10 digs, nine service aces and three assists.

Junior Addy Geno amassed four kills, four digs, four aces, an assist and a block, while teammate Kylee Schleisman left the tournament with 12 digs, three assists and three aces. Sophomore Mollie Monahan had four kills and a block, followed by two aces from junior Sam Stuart and two digs from junior Sophie McKinney.

Freshman Norah Riedesel finished the tournament with an assist, and a dig.

It was the Titans’ third consecutive Early Bird Tournament title.

From the impressive run, the Titans headed into Labor Day with a 9-5 overall record and a 2-0 mark within the TLC.

SCC will now take on Alta-Aurelia in a conference tilt, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the SCC High School Gymnasium in Lake City. This weekend, the Titans will host some heavy competition at the annual “Master Blaster” Tournament, which will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City.

At the “Master Blaster” Tournament, SCC will welcome in East Sac County, Harlan, Kingsley-Pierson, No. 10-ranked (Class 2A) Kuemper Catholic and Ridge View.

Results from another busy stretch of matches will be reported in an upcoming edition of The Graphic-Advocate.

SCC 3, GTRA 0: The Titans started their winning streak in stellar fashion, sweeping GTRA in a Twin Lakes Conference matchup held last Thursday at the Panther Pit in Storm Lake.

SCC rattled off a 25-15 win in the first set, before putting the brooms to GTRA with a 25-13 in the second set and a 25-18 triumph in the third set.

Junior Riley Batta caused headaches for GTRA, piling up 11 kills, four service aces, three assists, two digs and a block. Junior Keira Hammen recorded nine kills, five blocks and two digs, while freshman Jayci Graeve netted 22 assists, two kills, a dig and a block.

Sophomore Mollie Monahan posted six kills, followed by freshman Brenna McAlister’s three digs and one kill and junior Addy Geno’s one kill and one ace. Junior Kylee Schleisman tallied two aces and one dig, and junior Sophie McKinney acquired two digs and an ace.

SCC 3, St. Mary’s 0: Finishing the night with a conference bout with the Panthers, the Titans took care of business at a TLC-sanctioned triangular held last Thursday at the Panther Pit in Storm Lake.

SCC won all three games by scores of 25-12, 25-14 and 25-17.

Batta hammered the Panthers with eight kills, as Graeve amassed 15 Assists, two aces and one dig. Hammen scored in multiple categories with six blocks, five service aces, two kills, one assist and one dig, as Geno chipped in with two kills, two blocks, an ace and an assist.

McAlister went multidimensional with five aces, five digs and two kills, alongside Monahan’s four kills and an assist. Schleisman picked up five digs and three aces, and McKinney contributed with two kills and a block.

SCC 2, Audubon 0: Beginning the SCC “Early Bird” Tournament with the Wheelers, the Titans continued to cruise in their first match, held this past Saturday at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City.

The Titans won both sets with scores of 21-16 and 21-18.

No individual game stats were provided.

SCC 2, Perry 0: Following up their win over Audubon, the Titans dominated the Bluejays at the SCC “Early Bird” Tournament, held this past Saturday at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City.

SCC defeated Perry, 25-13, in the first set and blasted the Bluejays in the second set with a 21-6 victory.

No individual game stats were provided.

SCC 2, Belmond-Klemme 0: The Titans continued to roll, easing past the Broncos at the SCC “Early Bird” Tournament, which took place this past Saturday at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City.

The Titans claimed the first set with a 21-16 win, before putting away the Broncos with a 21-15 victory.

No individual game stats were updated.

SCC 2, Manson-Northwest Webster 1: In the first encounter of the season between the two Calhoun County schools, it was the Titans who prevailed at the SCC “Early Bird” Tournament, which took place this past Saturday at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City.

After the Cougars took a narrow 21-18 victory, the Titans rallied to win the next two sets with scores of 21-11 and 15-7.

No individual game stats were provided.

SCC 2, Spencer 0: In the SCC “Early Bird” Tournament championship, which took place this past Saturday at the SCC Middle School Gymnasium in Rockwell City, the Titans had no problems with the Tigers.

SCC picked up a 21-14 victory in the first set, and closed out Spencer with a solid 21-15 win.

No individual game stats were provided.