(Sentinel photo by Bethany Kroeze) Le Mars' Kirstie Ruhland (left) and Tara Lehner (right) join forces to block the River Valley hitter as Emily TeBrink prepares to back up the block. The Lady Bulldogs defeated the Wolverines 2-1 in pool play at Saturday's Le Mars Invitational tournament. [Click to enlarge]

The Le Mars volleyball squad boosted its spirits Saturday, coming off a tough loss to Sioux City East in their home opener Thursday, as the Lady Bulldogs completed a 4-0 sweep of their tournament to win the Le Mars Invitational.

"It was a nice win for the girls," Le Mars coach Susan Irwin said.

The Lady Bulldogs started the tournament defeating River Valley and Spalding Catholic in pool play en route to winning the pool.

In the first match, Le Mars defeated River Valley 2-1. After a close 23-21 win in game one, the Wolverines bounced back to grab a 21-17 win over Le Mars in game two, forcing the third game. Le Mars got the advantage in another close one, defeating River Valley 15-12 to take the match.

After River Valley defeated Spalding 2-0 (21-17, 21-19), the Lady Bulldogs faced the Spartans in their second pool play match. Le Mars won easily, rolling over Spalding 21-7 in game one and 21-11 in game two to win the match and the pool.

In the second pool, South Sioux City defeated Woodbury Central 2-0 and Akron-Westfield 2-0 to post a 2-0 pool record and advance to the championship pool.

Hinton also advanced to the championship pool after defeating Lawton-Bronson (21-10, 21-9) and South O'Brien (21-16, 21-15) in the third pool.

In the championship pool, Le Mars defeated South Sioux City 2-1 in a closely fought battle.

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The Lady Bulldogs dropped game one 23-21 to the Cardinals before battling a tough comeback in game two, winning 21-17 and forcing the third game. Le Mars won 15-12 in game three to win the match.

South Sioux City next played Hinton, defeating the Blackhawks in another close battle. The Cardinals won game one, 21-14, before the Blackhawks battled back in game two to a 21-14 win. In game three, South Sioux City edged Hinton 16-14 to win the match and finish the championship pool with an even 1-1 record.

Le Mars and Hinton faced off in the final match of the tournament and it was another three-game battle. Le Mars struck first, winning game one 21-11. But Hinton answered back in game two with a 21-18 victory. Game three was a nail-biter and the Lady Bulldogs came out victorious in the 15-13 win.

"The championship pool was great competition for us before our game Thursday with Spencer," Irwin said. "The competition was great with both schools and we didn't know what to expect."

Leading the Lady Bulldogs through the tournament were seniors Emily TeBrink and Kaylee Thompson. Thompson recorded a team-high 25 kills on the day along with six blocks on defense.

TeBrink posted strong numbers in almost every statistical category. The senior recorded a team-high 26 digs on defense along with 20 kills and eight ace serves on offense.

"Emily started out the day pretty quiet and then during the Hinton match she came out really strong and carried us through that last game with them," Irwin said.

Junior Kelby Klein also stepped up with a solid performance on Saturday, totaling 16 kills and three blocks.

Amy Lubben played an all-around day from the setter's position, dishing up 45 assists throughout the day as well as 16 kills and four blocks. Molly Fischer, the Lady Bulldogs' other setter, added 26 assists on the day.

Libero Cassie Kuiken had a great day from the server's line, tallying 11 aces in the tournament to lead the Lady Bulldogs. Kuiken also dug up 20 hits on defense. Natalie Miller added 14 digs and Tara Lehner totaled four blocks to round out Le Mars' leaders.

"The girls are definitely playing well together," Irwin said of her squad. "The chemistry is still there and the opportunity to play in front of a crowd keeps their adrenaline going. And of course we sure do enjoy the support."

The Lady Bulldogs are now 12-1 on the season and will bring their No. 9 rating in Class 3A to the table as they take on Spencer on the road Thursday as they return to Lakes Conference action.

Also participating in the tournament were Akron-Westfield and Hinton.

Hinton finished with a 2-2 record on the day after dropping both matches in the championship pool. The Blackhawks won their pool in the morning with wins over Lawton-Bronson and South O'Brien.

Akron-Westfield went 0-2 in pool play with losses to South Sioux City (21-14, 21-16) and Woodbury Central (21-19, 21-16). The Lady Westerners split a pair of matches in the "B" consolation pool, falling to Spalding Catholic 2-0 (24-22, 22-20) and defeating Lawton-Bronson 2-0 (21-13, 21-18).

Individual statistics for A-W and Hinton were not available but will be published when statistics are available.

Overall records from the Le Mars Invitational:

Le Mars, 4-0

South Sioux City, 3-1

Woodbury Central, 3-1

Hinton, 2-2

South O'Brien, 2-2

River Valley, 1-3

Akron-Westfield, 1-3

Spalding Catholic, 1-3

Lawton-Bronson, 1-3