File photo by Steve Muscatello Sophomore Mara Weisensel spikes the ball during a recent match at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School.

NEW ULM — Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart defeated Minnesota Valley Lutheran 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13 on Thursday in a Tomahawk Conference volleyball match.

The Chargers grabbed an early 3-2 lead in the fifth set. BLHS tied it up before gaining its first lead 4-3. The Mustangs would not give up the lead as they kept MVL at bay. MVL knocked the ball out of bounds for the set point and match win.

MVL refused to die as it kept fighting back and getting points when necessary. BLHS held its composure and secured the win.

“Both teams really played good defense,” MVL head coach Sara Gieseke said. “It was a fun match, and it was intense from start to finish.”

Gieseke said her team lost momentum and it took time to regain it. The offense wasn’t consistent, but MVL didn’t have enough at the end to win.

MVL started well by persistently playing even with BLHS in the first set. There were three ties and two lead changes. MVL held a 23-17 lead after BLHS scored four points before MVL got the final point.

Neither team could get an edge in set 2. BLHS gained momentum down the stretch to win the set. There were four lead changes and five ties in the set. MVL hit the ball out of bounds for BLHS’s set winning point.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 10-4 advantage in the third set. MVL closed the gap within three points using some good blocks at the net. BLHS held on and won set three.

MVL appeared to have taken control of the match when it won set four. Things were close in the early stages, but MVL scored the last four points to force the fifth set.

Anna Buboltz had 18 set assists and 21 digs for BLHS. Emily VanderVoort added 15 set assists and nine digs. Keegan Hanson had 25 digs, Alyssa Peterson had 21 digs and Jacxl Fernandez had 21 digs.

Haley Birkholz had 14 kills, 17 digs and four blocks for MVL. Lauren Paulsen added 10 kills, with seven digs and three blocks. Maddie Pearson had 19 set assists and seven digs and Hanna Marzinske had 22 digs and five kills. Abby Riesgraf had 26 digs and Mackenzie Helget had 20 set assists with 11 digs.

BLHS (8-13, 2-6) will travel to Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity on Tuesday. MVL (11-13, 3-5) will play at Nicollet (9-13, 4-3) on Monday.