SHULLSBURG — Potosi opened the season with a third-place finish at the nine-team Shullsburg Six Rivers Tournament on Saturday.
The Chieftains swept Casville 25–13, 25–20 and Weston 25–10, 25–20 to win its pool and play for the title in the gold bracket.
But Potosi finished the day with a 25–15, 25–22 loss to runner-up Southwestern and a 25–15, 25–14 loss to champion Benton.
Senior Abby Kaiser powered the Chieftains with 45 kills and 45 digs. Fellow senior Sophie Langkamp had 17 kills, 46 assists and seven aces. Senior Grace Morgan also had 17 kills, and senior Rayne Wolfe added 12 kills a team-high eight blocks.
Senior Hannah Udelhoven passed out a team-best 48 assists, while sophomore Justice Udelhofen served up eight aces. Junior libero Taylar Pluemer had 37 digs.
“We started out strong early in the day, went to gold round,” said Potosi head coach Ric Walsh. “Both Southwestern and Benton were playing solid defense and we just could not find our rhythm. We played strong, but they would put together string of points that we could not break up quick enough.”
Despite the 2–2 record, Walsh was pleased with his team’s effort in the first official competition of the season.
“It was great to have the team get on the court and see the speed of play we have to get accustomed to playing at. We had many bright spots just not consistent enough.”
Potosi (2–2) will opened Six Rivers West conference play Tuesday at home against Shullsburg. They will now host Highland Thursday at 7:15 p.m. before hosting River Ridge on Tuesday.
The Timberwolves (6–0), who finished second in the SRW a year ago, went 5–0 Saturday to win the eight-team Monticello Six Rivers Jamboree.
Shullsburg
Six Rivers Tournament
(from Saturday, Aug. 26 @ Shullsburg)
Gold Pool: Benton 2–0, Southwestern 1–1, Potosi 0–2. Silver Pool: Argyle 2–0, Shullsburg 1–1, Cassville 0–2. Bronze Pool: Ithaca 2–0, Albany 1–1, Weston 0–2.
Pool A: Southwestern 2–0, Shullsburg 1–1, Albany 0–2. Pool B: Benton 2–0, Ithaca 0–1, Argyle 0–1. Pool C: Potosi 2–0, Cassville 1–1, Weston 0–2.
Potosi match scores
Potosi def. Cassville 25–13, 25–20
Potosi def. Weston 25–10, 25–20
Southwestern def. Potosi 25–15, 25–22
Benton def. Potosi 25–15, 25–14.
Potosi stat leaders
Kills: Abby Kaiser 45, Sophie Langkamp 17, Grace Morgan 17, Rayne Wolf 12. Blocks: Langkamp 15, Rayne Wolfe 8. Assists: Hannah Udelhofen 48, Sophie Langkamp 36. Aces: Justice Udelhofen 8, Langkamp 7. Digs: Kaiser 45, Taylar Pluemer 37.