SLEEPY EYE — Minnesota Valley Lutheran defeated Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 25-17, 23-25, 25-20 and 26-24 on Tuesday in Tomahawk Conference volleyball action. It was the season opener for MVL.

One highlight for MVL was senior Mara Weisensel, who set a school record for the most kills in match with 33. Maddie Pearson added 47 set assists and 16 digs. Sophomores Abbie Riederer and Lili Mohor had eight kills apiece.

“They played us tough and scrappy at times,” MVL head coach Amy Pearson. “We had some issues with serving in the fourth set.”

In the fourth set, both teams played as if it were a championship contest. It was close throughout the set with neither team leading by more than three points. There were 11 ties and four lead changes.

St. Mary’s earned a 23-22 advantage on an MVL net serve. A Charger mistake gave the Knights another point. MVL responded by getting two consecutive points to tie it at 24-24.

The Chargers eventually won the match on some hitting errors

In the first set, MVL built a 9-4 lead. Whenever it appeared as if the Chargers gained the upper hand, St. Mary’s would put together a run of its own. MVL won the set on a St. Mary’s hitting error.

Late in the second set, St. Mary’s battled MVL and earned the point to tie it at 21-21. However, the Knights won the set by scoring the final three points.

In the third set, the teams continued to keep pace with each other with neither team leading by more than few points. The Chargers managed to get points off key hits by their offense and the defense made solid returns. A serving error by St. Mary’s gave MVL the final point of the set.

“We were facing a conference team, so the intensity was different,” St. Mary’s head coach Jen Walter said. She noted that her team’s defense kept them in the contest, and they nearly forced a fifth set. She said it was definitely a battle from start to finish.

Madison Mathiowetz led St. Mary’s with 13 set assists, 10 kills and four blocks. Sydney Windschitl had eight kills, and 12 digs and Lauren Hoffmann added 26 digs.