Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Jenna Bates hits Maple River’s Delaney Stensel, 15, during a South Central Conference volleyball game Thursday at Storm Fieldhouse in New Ulm. Go up to block the hit.
NEW ULM — The Minnesota Valley Lutheran Chargers needed every ounce of energy they had left as the Maple River Eagles forced a fifth set of volleyball Thursday night at Storm Fieldhouse.
And despite playing back-to-back five-setters coming off the weekend’s tournament, the Chargers’ third five-setter of the week was 25-20, 13-25, 25-17, 25-21, 15-8. victory.
The Chargers (3-14-2, 1-6) played their first game of the season against the same Maple River team (5-14) that they lost in six games in the United South Central High School Tournament last Saturday. He achieved victory. Wake up on Thursday night. MVL then played Blue Earth and won in five sets, although they lost in five sets on Tuesday against Lake Crystal Welcome Memorial.
No matter how many sets it took, the Chargers were poised to get their first varsity win at Storm Fieldhouse.
Sophomore middle hitter Jenna Bates made a big contribution to the Chargers’ victory on Thursday with 25 kills and two blocks.
“I’ve seen some really good hitters and my blocks have always been up,” Bates said. “But I always found ways to get around the blocks or lean around the blocks, and I think that helped a lot.”
MVL head coach Johanna Kettner said she expected her players to be tired heading into Thursday’s game against Maple River, but she also expected them to respond the same way.
“They definitely had that in mind and were anticipating that fatigue,” she said. “But they actually feed off each other energetically, so they look at each other and are like, ‘Here are the cards we’re dealt, we’re going to play our cards.’ I think it’s easy ‘the most difficult, we will aim for as many wins as possible, this week we won two of them, five sets. ”
“I think the biggest thing is that high school sports aren’t forever. If you’re going to play, you’re going to play well, so even though we had three games this week and they all went to five sets, I think that was the biggest key to definitely boosting our energy.”
MVL was also led by junior Marley Schauer with 19 kills (including one goal to end the game) and 11 digs. Olivia Hammer also had 14 kills and 14 digs, and Avery Fryer captained the winning boat with 53 set assists and 10 digs. Jess Meunier also added 13 goals for the Chargers.
The Chargers trailed 22-16 in the fourth set and trailed to 22-20, but despite a late comeback, the Eagles tied the game 2-2 at the end of the set, giving them a chance to win in four sets. I missed it. Killed by Makinna Ertmann.
The Chargers took the lead in the fifth set with a kill from Hammer before Ertmann tied it with a kill of his own. Consecutive kills by Schauer and two errors by Maple River gave MVL a 5-1 lead in the final set, forcing a Maple River timeout. Moments later, Maple River was within one point, 8-7, but the Chargers went on a 7-1 run on a kill by Schauer to take the set and the game.
MVL fought back after falling behind 9-3 in the first set, eventually tying the score at 12-all on an error and taking a 14-13 lead on Frier’s ace. The Eagles later tied the score twice, but a block from Bates sparked a 3-0 run for MVL, forcing a timeout at 19-16 in Maple River.
Bates extended MVL’s lead to 6-0 on a Maple River attack error, and kept the Chargers’ momentum going with two kills until they took a 22-16 lead. She then recorded her sixth kill of the set before the Chargers won 25-20 on a Maple River net violation.
It was an ugly second set for the Chargers, who trailed 13-3 early. MVL then cut the deficit to six points, but the Eagles ran from there and took the set on a kill from Olivia Sellers.
The third set was almost the exact opposite of the second, with the Chargers quickly building a 13-7 lead after a 5-0 run capped by kills from Hammer and Schauer. The Chargers had some trouble late in the set as Maple River cut the deficit to 20-16, but they ended the set on a 5-1 run in favor of the Chargers.
“Earlier in the season, we started having more sets like (the second set) where we were behind, and we got pushed a little bit,” Kettner said. “And I think in terms of maturity, just this season, we’ve grown so much. I think it kind of shone through, our youth shone through a little bit, so that’s why the second I think that was what was happening in the set. I think they improved a lot and I think that’s why they played well in the third set and played well in the fourth.”
Despite dropping the fourth set, the Chargers kept their energy up, kept the score close, and ultimately ended the night with big smiles on their faces.
“I really think in practice we try to do our best and push as hard as we can and keep the energy up,” Bates said. “But I always try to stay positive on the court and try to lift up all my friends and teammates.”
Bates is one of five sophomores on the Chargers, joining Hammer, Fryer, Avery Hearn and Meunier. Claudia Weisenzel is the only senior leader on the team this year, which opens the door for several underclassmen to step up and become leaders early in their careers.
The Chargers will get some rest on Tuesday as they travel to Le Sueur-Henderson for another conference game.
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