Lyle/Pacelli's long-awaited return for Louise Mudra was not as long as it might have been.

L/P's volleyball team welcomed back their top returner from last year's undefeated Southeast Conference championship squad in a 3-0 victory over visiting LeRoy-Ostrander Thursday night in Lyle.

Mudra did not take over the match by any means, but her contributions were more than just kills and digs. L/P evened its record at 2-2 overall and in SEC play with the three-game sweep.

LeRoy-Ostrander fell back to .500 (2-2) with the 15-11, 15-0, 16-14 loss.

Angela Kuttner led Lyle/Pacelli with 15 digs, followed by Lindsey Halbach's 14 and Mudra's 13. Mudra paced L/P with nine kills, aided by Kristina Hollerud and Halbach with six and Kuttner with five.

Kelsey Sampson had 10 digs and accounted for 14 service points. Rebecca Mino dished out 18 set assists.

Both L/P and L-O go to the Hayfield Tournament Saturday. Games start at 9 a.m.

In other area SEC action, Grand Meadow was knocked off by Glenville-Emmons, 15-5, 15-1, 15-8.

Rebels dip to 0-4

Southland stumbled to 0-4 overall and 0-3 in Three Rivers Conference play with a three-game loss at Rushford-Peterson Thursday night. The host Trojans won by scores of 15-3, 15-3, 15-13.

"We were fairly flat last night, which is a shame becaus I think we finally got into a match where we were pretty evenly opposed," said Southland second-year coach Darica Quick. "Last night was a good chance for us to come around and play well together to secure our first win, but we just fell apart."

Megan Schroeder led the Rebels with four kills, followed by Jenny Boe with three and Allison Chapek with two. Schroeder led with nine digs and Bridget Felten added seven in a losing cause.

"Hopefully next week when we're finished with this first week of school and all the hulabaloo that accompanies, we'll be able to settle down and get into a better routine which also includes a couple victories," Coach Quick said.

Amanda Landherr, a senior new to the volleyball team, led the way with three service aces and contributed seven consecutive service points in the third game.

Southland plays next Thursday at home against Kingsland before hosting the Rebel Invitational Saturday, Sept. 14.

Around the county

Hayfield fell to 0-3 overall and in Hiawatha Valley League play with a five-game loss at Pine Island Thursday night, 15-9, 15-5, 1-15, 1-15, 15-7.

The Vikings host an eight-team tournament Saturday morning starting at 9 a.m.

Blooming Prairie, who will be at the tournament, lost in five games to Randolph, 15-10, 9-15, 15-6, 14-16, 15-8.