The #5 seeded West Central Trojans earned a win over the #4 seeded Madison Bulldogs in the opening round of the Region 3A tournament on Tuesday, November 5th. The Trojans won by set scores of 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, and 25-23.
Madison took an early 5-3 lead in the first set and then had a 5-2 run to make the score 10-5. The Trojans rallied to get within a point 11-10 and kept the score close. Madison continued to lead by just one point 18-17, but then was able to extend their lead to 23-20. West Central got within a point again 24-23, but the Bulldogs scored the final point for the 25-23 win. West Central started the second set with a 4-2 lead. The Trojans pushed the lead to 10-4 and continued to maintain a five-to-seven point lead. They were still in front 15-8, but the Bulldogs made a run. Madison cut the lead to 19-16 and then to 22-21. West Central, however, stopped the rally and finished the second set with a 3-1 run for a 25-22 win.
The Bulldogs started the third set with an early 4-1 run. The Trojans kept the Bulldogs from extending the run and cut the lead to 10-9. West Central then went on a 3-0 run for a 12-10 lead. Madison stopped West Central from getting too far in front and actually tied the score 12-12. The two teams were tied again 15-15. Madison would go on a 4-1 run to take a 19-16 lead, but West Central responded with a 6-0 run to go back in front 22-19. That run gave them the momentum to win the third set 25-21.
Madison started the fourth set with a big 7-1 run. The Trojans were able to recover and chip away at the lead until the score was 14-13 in favor of Madison. West Central eventually tied the score 16-16 and then took the lead 20-17. The Trojans continued to lead by three, 22-19, but Madison scored the next two points for a 22-21 score. West Central held off the Bulldogs and won the fourth set, and the match, 25-23.
Madi Ingalls finished with 18 kills and 10 digs. Dawson Garry added eight kills. Cambree Ideker had 38 set assists and four blocks. Avery Nothdurft had nine digs, and Sophie Gross ended with seven blocks.
The Trojans will travel to Dell Rapids to play the #1 seeded Quarriers on Thursday, November 7th in a SoDak 16 Qualifying match.
