Staff photo by Steve Muscatello Minnesota Valley Lutheran's Ella Schlei (6) spikes the ball as teammate Kaylee Hunter (1) and Springfield's Jaelie Richert (4) look on Thursday at MVL.

NEW ULM — Springfield defeated Minnesota Valley Lutheran on Thursday 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-14 in Tomahawk Conference volleyball action.

The first set was tight from start to finish. There were six ties, but MVL did not get the lead. A Charger was able to drop the ball between several Tiger defenders to cut the deficit to 23-20. Springfield held off MVL and it got the set point on a kill.

In the second set, MVL was able to grab its first lead of 4-3 after there was a battle at the net. Later, the Chargers maintained their lead for some time. The set tightened up with there being three ties within a short period of time. Springfield regained its lead on an out-of-bounds serve by MVL. There was another tie at 22-22. Cylee Graff regained Springfield’s advantage on a solid return. Springfield scored the final 3 points of the set to win it.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the third set. MVL came back and tied it up. The Chargers proceeded to score 4 points in a row for a 9-5 lead. Despite the set remaining close, MVL held on. There were three more ties after that. Springfield’s Brooklyn Sturm hit the ball out of bounds, resulting in MVL regaining the lead. MVL earned the final 2 points of the set to win it.

The Tigers jumped out to a 10-3 lead early in the fourth set. MVL kept slowly chipping away, but it could come only within 5 points. Springfield put together a 7-0 run to close out the set and win the match. There was a long volley for the final set point. Both teams kept the ball coming with excellent returns. An MVL player knocked the ball out of bounds, making it 25-14 Springfield.

MVL will play at Wabasso on Monday. Springfield will play at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Tue. Nov. 10.