MW goes 3-1 in Illinois to open VB season; Bluejays lose football debut

The Minnesota West Lady Jays volleyball team won three out of its four matches over the weekend at the Rockford, Ill., Opening Weekend Tournament in its first official action of the season.

On Friday, the Lady Jays began play with a 3-1 victory over Delta College of Michigan and then followed that with a 3-0 triumph over Elgin, Ill., Community College. 

On Saturday, Minnesota West — ranked fifth in the nation in the NJCAA Division 3 Preseason Volleyball Poll — played against College of DuPage of Glen Ellyn, Ill., the fourth-ranked squad in the same poll, and was edged 3-2. The Lady Jays also took on Harper College of Palatine, Ill., and won 3-1.

Minnesota West will next play this coming Friday and Saturday at the Crossover Tournament at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

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In Minnesota West's football opener Saturday, visiting Ellsworth Community College opened a 27-0 lead and went on to post a 50-6 triumph over the Bluejays.

The Division 1 Panthers dominated up front and with their depth in defeating Division 3 Minnesota West, spoiling Blake Tucker's head coaching debut. Ellsworth took a 7-0 edge in the first quarter on a 51-yard touchdown on a punt return, then added TDs on a 3-yard TD pass, 19-yard run and 42-yard quarterback scramble in the second quarter. The Bluejays got on the board with 24 seconds left before halftime, as QB Jayden Hopkins connected with Tayvon Evans on a 10-yard scoring strike, but Hopkins' 2-point conversion pass was picked off by Ellsworth and returned for two Panthers points.

Ellsworth tacked on two more TDs in the third quarter and another in the fourth to wrap up the win. Minnesota West will next travel to College of DuPage, the five-time defending NJCAA Division 3 football national champions, for a game this coming Saturday.

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Alex Fink laid down a squeeze bunt to score Jake Tauer in the bottom of the ninth inning and give the Windom Pirates a 3-2 walk-off win Saturday over the Clearwater River Cats at the Class C Minnesota amateur baseball tournament in Shakopee.

Tauer's RBI single and Drew Rothenberger's run-scoring double gave Windom a 2-0 edge in the first. Clearwater even the score with two runs in the fifth, setting the stage for Windom's walk-off win and a Pirates berth in the Sweet 16.

Collin Lovell tossed six innings and allowed two runs on four hits for Windom. Kobe Lovell tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn the pitching triumph.

Elsewhere at the state tourney, the Fairmont Martins blanked the Quamba Cubs 7-0 on Saturday to also advance to the Sweet 16. On Sunday, the Dumont Saints ousted the Luverne Redbirds 3-1.

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The WHS girls tennis team went 0-3 in their opening matches to start the season. The Trojans were at MACCRAY for a tournament on Friday and lost 5-2 to MACCRAY, 4-3 to Lac Qui Parle Valley-Dawson Boyd and 5-2 to Redwood Valley.

No. 4 Trojan singles player Claire Schultz won her first three matches to start the fall. She topped a MACCRAY opponent by scores of 6-4, 6-4, a Lac Qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd foe 6-1, 6-1 and a Redwood Valley opponent 6-0, 6-1.

No. 1 WHS singles player Lily Brown also picked up a victory in the MACCRAY match as she won 6-3, 7-6. Brown also earned a 7-5, 6-3 triumph in the Lac Qui Parle match and Madison Poe won at No. 3 singles 7-5, 2-6, 10-3. Poe also got a win against Redwood Valley by scores of 4-6, 6-3, 10-3.