MONTAGUE — Whitehall enjoyed one of its best days of the season Saturday at the West Michigan Conference Lakes tournament, winning two matches to finish third in the event.
The Vikings took on rival Montague twice in their three matches, losing a first-round tilt 25-18, 25-19 before advancing to the third-place match and avenging that loss with a gritty victory, 19-25, 26-24, 15-13. In between, Whitehall edged Manistee 22-25, 25-23, 16-14 in another tough battle.
Lou Mulder had a terrific day for Whitehall, posting 19 assists at the tournament and also leading the team in kills, with 13, and in aces, with six. The Vikings also got great defensive effort from Kate Beda, who compiled 41 digs. Peyton Schultz added 19. Clare Westerlund chipped in six blocks.
Montague settled for fourth place in the tournament after dropping that third-place match to Whitehall. In between the Wildcats' two matches with their rivals, they faced top seed Ludington in the semifinals. Montague kept that match close throughout, just as it did in the regular-season meeting, but fell a little short, 25-18, 25-19.
It was a good day at the service line for Montague, which saw Gentry Knop ring up 12 aces. Ella Evans had seven aces and Emalee McGee added six.
Reagan Cederquist was a two-way star Saturday, with a team-best 48 digs and 26 kills to lead in both defensive and offensive categories. Hallie VanTuyl added 16 kills. McGee ran the offense and delivered 51 assists, and Knop chipped in 35 digs on defense.
Whitehall and Montague were scheduled to face off again Thursday at the Big Rapids Quad.
