Reeths-Puffer had a solid performance Saturday at the GMAA tournament, which the Rockets hosted. R-P played a close match against top seed and eventual champion Western Michigan Christian in the semifinals before falling, 25-20, 25-21, then scored an impressive win over Fruitport, 25-10, 14-25, 15-13, to secure third place.
R-P opened the day with a 25-19, 26-24 win over North Muskegon.
It was a big day for star setter Kate Tindall, who passed out 61 assists over the three matches. She was also second on the team in digs for the day, with 22.
Lexie Danz racked up 25 kills and five aces to lead the Rockets (19-14-3) in both categories, and Peyton Radel added 21 kills and three blocks. Leah Zuniga led the R-P defense with 42 digs.
Montague finished in eighth place in the tournament, going 1-3. The Wildcats opened the day with a hard-fought win over Oakridge, 22-25, 25-23, 15-7, before falling in their next three matches.
"After having dropped two matches to them, we were prepared to ensure the old adage of 'it’s hard to beat a team three times' stood true," Montague coach Gretchen Schneider said.
Ellee Smith led Montague (6-24-5) in that Oakridge match, getting six kills and posting a .333 hitting percentage.
Montague then faced off with top seed and eventual champion Western Michigan Christian. Though the 'Cats lost that match, they played solidly and lost by a respectable 25-16, 25-16 margin, with the Warriors pulling away late in both games.
"I was very pleased with our team in defending against their multiplayer arsenal," Schneider said of the match against WMC.
In the consolation bracket, Montague fell to North Muskegon, 25-23, 25-20, and dropped the seventh-place match to Muskegon Catholic, 25-15, 25-17.
Smith posted a team-best 33 service points for Montague in the four matches. Annelyse Schneider had an impressive day at the net with 14 blocks. She also had 19 kills. Ava Dean recorded 37 digs, and Layla Denhof had 42 assists. Schneider, Dean and Denhof each had 23 service points.
Whitehall split two matches on the day, falling to Ravenna 25-14, 25-17 before bouncing back for a win over Oakridge in a consolation match, 25-20, 25-12.
"We bounced back great for our match against Oakridge," Whitehall coach Claire McGrew said. "We took care of our side well in that match."
The Vikings (5-20-1) hit an impressive .237 against Oakridge. For the day, Aaliyah Jamison led the Whitehall offense with eight kills. Clare Westerlund had four aces, though the team made 13 service errors as well. Westerlund and Delaney Kramer each recorded a pair of blocks. Jamison had 20 digs, and Peyton Schultz passed out 15 assists.
