NEW ULM — St. James Area defeated New Ulm 14-25. 25-23. 25-22, 25-23 on Thursday in a Big South Conference volleyball match. It was the third consecutive loss by the Eagles.

The fourth set had SJA jumping out to an 9-4 lead. New Ulm battled back, tied it and held a lead during the middle portion of the set. One bright spot for the Eagles during that stretch came when Caitlyn Todesco had three ace serves which resulted in a 17-12 lead.

SJA kept the pressure on the Eagles to tie it at 19-19. New Ulm committed several miscues while the Saints remained composed and they worked to get the tie. A kill by a Saints player grabbed the advantage back.

Both teams exchanged points. SJA got a kill and a block to earn the final two points and the victory.

New Ulm had the lead for about one-half of the third set. Both teams would have short runs to either have a slim lead or tie it. Korry Karau’s kill tied at 22-22. A tip by the SJA front line and two out-of-bound hits by the Eagles led to SJA winning the set.

The pattern began for the Eagles in the second set. They held the lead for most of the second set. SJA would battle back to tie it. A Saint serving error resulted in a 23-23 tie. An Eagle player misplayed the ball and, on the next play, the volleyball was hit out of bounds giving the set to the Saints.

Things started out well for the Eagles in the first set. New Ulm led 16-8 when an Eagle tipped the ball between several SJA defenders. After that, New Ulm put together a 9-5 run to take the set.

Natalie Yackley led the Eagles with 33 set assists, 16 digs, three kills and one block. Ally Steffensmeier added eight kills, seven digs and two blocks. Nora Windschill had 11 kills, eight digs and one block.

New Ulm (8-8, 7-2) will play at Waseca on Tuesday.