SLEEPY EYE — Tuesday’s volleyball match between Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s and Sleepy Eye resembled a heavyweight boxing championship bout. The Knights swept the Indians 25-23, 27-25, 25-22. Both teams traded points rather than punches.

“You can never be too comfortable when you face them because they are scrappy,” St. Mary’s head coach Jen Walter said.

The Knights build a lead in the first set. They led 18-11 but the Indians kept coming back. An ace serve by Jackie Nessett brought Sleepy Eye within one point. A St. Mary’s mistake gave the Indians a point to tie it at 20-apiece. Both teams traded points with the Indians’ front line getting a block for the last tie of the set.

Sleepy Eye made a miscue and on the next play, it knocked the ball out of bounds and the Knights won the set.

The teams had a long volley with both teams returning the volleyball to the other side a number of times midway through the second set. St. Mary’s earned the point for a 16-12 lead. The Indians tied it 24-24. The Indians grabbed the lead when St. Mary’s failed to return the ball over the net. Sleepy Eye knocked the ball out of bounds twice in a row for St. Mary’s winning points.

St. Mary’s got a good front line block late in the third set to lead 20-14. The Indians refused to quit as they battled back to tie it on a block at the net. The Indians dropped the ball between some St. Mary’s players for a 21-21 tie. St. Mary’s got a block at the net to regain the advantage. A Sleepy Eye player knocked the ball out of bounds. St. Mary’s scored on a soft drop. Sydney Windschitl’s ace serve secured the set and match win for the Knights.

“I’m proud of how our girls played,” Indians head coach Sydney Geiger said. “It’s going to be fun when we face each other again in a few weeks.”

Brittney Dittbenner had 10 kills and 17 digs for Sleepy Eye. Alexa Steffl added seven kills and nine digs while Sandy Flores had 22 set assists.

Allie Labat had 27 set assists and seven digs for the Knights. Windschitl had 10 digs, two blocks and four kills. Lauren Hoffmann added 10 digs.

St. Mary’s (2-2) will travel to Springfield on Thursday.

Sleepy Eye will participate in its Invitational Tournament on Saturday.