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Eagles end regular season with 4-set win over Trojans

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm High School’s Graceyn Nesje (3) bumps the ball during the Eagles’ final regular season matchup at NUHS on Thursday against Worthington.

NEW ULM — The New Ulm High School volleyball team ended its regular season on Thursday with some nice momentum heading into next week’s Section 2AAA playoffs.

The Eagles held off Worthington 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23 in Section 2AAA action at NUHS.

The Eagles (14-9) had to battle for every point throughout the match as both teams looked to make one final impression before playoff seedings got released on Friday.

The Trojans (15-14) took an early lead away from the Eagles in the first set on a 3-0 run to lead 10-8, but the Eagles got a kill from Afton Hulke and back-to-back aces from Natalie Yackley to go back ahead 11-10.

Down 17-12 at one point, the Eagles put together a late 7-0 run that was capped off on a kill by Madalyn O’Connor to lead 21-18. The Trojans grabbed a pair of points after that before Laura Bertrang ended the set with a block for a 1-0 New Ulm match lead.

After the Eagles led 2-1 early in Set 2, the Trojans quickly took the lead and held it from there out, stretching their lead to 9 later in the set. The Eagles cut the deficit to 24-20 late, but Worthington ended the set on a kill by Tarren Spartz.

The Eagles controlled the third set early, getting an 11-5 lead to force a Trojans timeout. The Trojans eventually closed the distance in the set and tied it at 22-all on back-to-back aces by Spartz. The Eagles held their ground, though, and ended the set on a kill from O’Connor.

The fourth set remained close until the Eagles pulled ahead 22-17 late after back-to-back aces by Emma Gieseke and a Worthington attack error. Worthington got within a point after that, but a Bertrang block ended the set and match.

No official stats were available after the match.

The Eagles begin playoff action on Wednesday.

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