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Pearson hits milestone in MVL victory

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau MVL’s Maddie Pearson sets up one of her 23 set assists on the night against Nicollet on Tuesday at Minnesota Valley Lutheran in New Ulm. Pearson reached 1,000 set assists for her career in the third set.

NEW ULM — Maddie Pearson picked up her 1,000th career set assist on Tuesday night as she helped Minnesota Valley Lutheran finish its regular volleyball season with a 25-17, 25-5, 25-16 sweep of Nicollet.

Pearson finished the night with 23 set assists and seven digs as the Chargers remained a perfect 9-0 at home on the year and wrapped up their regular season at 21-4.

“I’m happy that my team really helped me because I’m kind of the middle player, so I couldn’t have done it without the passes and the hitters,” Pearson said. “I’m so proud of the team for the win and for helping me accomplish the 1,000 set assists.”

Mara Weisensel also made her mark in the win for the Chargers with 13 kills and four blocks, while Abby Riesgraf and Haley Herfendal added six aces each. Lauren Paulsen had five kills and seven digs for the Chargers.

Nicollet was led by Jill Thompson, who had nine kills, seven digs and went 15 for 15 serving with four aces.

The first set saw each team trade kills early on, with the Chargers able to gain the upper hand after a 5-0 run that ended with a kill and a block by Weisensel and a kill by Hannah Marzinske. That run forced a Nicollet timeout with MVL up 19-12.

Nicollet got a pair of aces by Thompson after the timeout, but MVL ended the set with a win after a 3-0 run.

MVL dominated the second set, starting the game on a 10-0 run before Nicollet could get its first point. MVL ended the set with a 7-0 run that was led by four aces from Riesgraf.

Pearson collected her 1,000th set assist in the third set after a kill by Weisensel put the Chargers up 7-5. Nicollet tied it at 9-all and trailed 15-14 after a kill by Thompson, but that was as close as the Raiders would get the rest of the set.

With playoffs a week away, both teams await their seedings, which will be announced Wednesday morning. As far as things go for the Chargers, who have now won 11 matches in a row, Pearson said that she thinks the win further helps the team get ready for playoffs.

“I’m super excited,” Pearson said. “I think the win really helped us get pumped and ready for playoffs. Hopefully, we’ll go far, as far as we want to go.”

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