Edmunds County Tribune -

Ipswich won both of its two high school volleyball matches last week and again fed off senior Abby Grabowska's relentless net attack. Grabowska had entered the week needing just 12 kills to become a member of the 1000 career kills club and the first-ever IHS player to be a member of both the 1000 career digs club and the 1000 career kills plateau.

Abby Grabowska got her necessary kills and then some against Sully Buttes here last Tuesday in a highly contested non-league battle, which featured a fifth-game 15-12 tiebreaker win by the host team. She indeed included 24 kills among her 64 total hits against the Chargers and would then add 14 more kills in a 30-33 hitting effort two nights later during Ipswich's sweep of Sunshine Bible Academy at Miller.

Sully Buttes had claimed an opening-set 25-21 victory. But Ipswich responded with a 25-19 win of set two, punctuated by a Halle Heinz reverse kill for the set point. And Abby Grabowska would clinch a 25-20 third-set win for Ipswich with her set-point kill. But Sully Buttes evened the match and forced the tie-breaker set with a 25-18 win of set four.

The stats are awesome in a fifth-game match,so here goes. Ipswich fashioned a 149 to 128 hitting advantage over its visitors and featured a 48-23 kills lead. Avery Sylte was next behind Grabowska at the net with a 10-13 night that included seven kills. At the service line, Ipswich was led by Heinz, 19-19 with three aces and Chesney Olivier, 14-17,4. (Ipswich landed 85 total serves in 94 tries with nine aces.) The setting department was led by Heinz with a 124-124 night that included 26 assists and Bailey Pitz was next at 103-103, also perfect with 21 assists. As a team, Ipswich didn't miss a single setting opportunity with 231 sets in as many tries and featured 48 assists.

Ipswich had 144 digs, led by Olivier with 45 and Abby Grabowska with 34. Ipswich also utilized five assisted blocks led by Paige Mehlberg and Lindsey Grabowska with two each.

Meanwhile, Ipswich topped Sunshine Bible 25-12, 25-17, 25-15 in their non-conference confrontation.

In that win, Ipswich ended up with an overall 77-88 hitting effort that featured 30 kills. Lindsey Grabowska followed her sister at the net with a 18-20 four-kills evening and Mehlberg added four kills, as well, among her 8-9 hitting effort. In serving, Ipswich finished 66-74 with 12 aces. Sylte led at 12-13 with four aces. In the setting effort, Ipswich was 95-95 with 28 assists, led by Pitz with 15 assists and Heinz with 12.

Ipswich collected 56 digs, paced by Abby Grabowska with 17 and Olivier with 15. Olivia Gohl and Mehlberg each had two solo blocks and Sylte the other.

The Tigers improved to 6-3 with the two wins at that point of their schedule. "It was a good week," said IHS coach Trent Osborne, noting, though, that the Lady Tigers were beginning to battle some sickness and injury issues.

Ipswich was to host Warner in a Lake Region Conference showdown last evening (Tuesday) and the Lady Tigers will then face another formidible league opponent, Northwestern on Thursday in Mellette. Following that will be a tournament in Britton on September 15 and a homecourt non-league match with Potter County on the 18th.