Raiders winless at R-A tourney

The tournament-host Raiders went winless in three matches at the Ruthven-Ayrshire Tournament Saturday, falling in six games to a trio of Cornbelt Conference schools.

Harris-Lake Park earned the tournament title, sweeping its way past Graettinger-Terril (21-19, 21-13), Woden-Crystal Lake/Titonka (21-14, 21-15) and Ruthven-Ayrshire (21-14, 21-16).

The Raiders fell to Graettinger-Terril 21-9, 21-8 and to W-CL/T 21-12, 21-12. The Knights placed second with a 2-1 record, beating W-CL/T 21-7, 21-11.

"This was a very disappointing day for us," said Ruthven-Ayrshire head coach Kim Sierck. "We weren't able to put much together offensively because we didn't pass the ball well at all. We struggled all day with serve reception."

Ruthven-Ayrshire served at 89 percent for the tournament, a marked improvement over early-season performances. The Raiders also had 11 aces.

"Serving-wise I was happier with the effort we put forth," Sierck said. "The percentage was up closer to where it needs to be to stay competitive."

Jessica Larson led the Raiders in serving, going 16-of-16 with seven aces. Megan Alexander, who added 13 assists Saturday, went 15-of-17 with two aces. Sadie Forey and Amanda Long each had an ace.

Forey recorded a team-high seven kills, going 28-of-36 in hitting. Alyssa Groshens was 8-of-9 with four kills, Long added three kills and Ale Blackburn had two.

Forey had a team-high eight digs; Long and Larson each had six, Blackburn and Groshens had five apiece.