ELDRIDGE, IA — Woodward-Granger found themselves facing schools at least four times their size at the North Scott Invitational Saturday.
W-G had a BEDS number (students in grades 10-12) of 161 last year. On Saturday they faced Clinton (BEDS 807) and Bettendorf (1193) along with Quincy, Il, a school larger than Bettendorf.
The Blue Devils (Quincy) were narrow 16-21, 21-14, 16-14 winners over the Hawks, with Class 4A No. 15 Clinton recording an 18-21, 21-9, 15-8 victory. Bettendorf, ranked 10th in Class 5A, was a 22-20, 21-9 winner.
“We come here every year to see how we match up, how we handle tough competition,” W-G head coach Meg Jackson said. “We played well at times but were inconsistent, and it cost us a couple of wins.”
Ashley Gales had 16 total kills for W-G, with Julie Pitman adding 10. Alissa Smeltzer and Anna Tague each finished with six kills, with Alyssa Bice adding four and Emma Drake and Natalie Weaver one apiece. Drake, Gales and Pitman recorded two blocks apiece, with Smeltzer adding one.
Bice tallied 19 assists and Drake 18, with Gales making two assists while Kaycee Major and Ashlyn Soelberg had one apiece.
Major had 21 digs, Drake 20 and Soelberg 12 to lead the defense. Bice had 10 digs, with Marissa Pasker tallying nine, Smeltzer four, Pitman three and Gales two.
Bice had seven aces on 26-of-29 serving and Drake two aces on a 23-of-25 effort. Pitman was 16-19-2 behind the line, with Soelberg 12-13-3, Major 10-10-1, Tague 5-5-1 and Pasker 2-2-1. Smeltzer finished 14-of-15 and Katelyn Bandstra 1-of-1.