File photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm High School defensive specialist Ella Freiderich (1) bumps the ball during a recent home volleyball match at NUHS.

By Jeff Meder

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM — New Ulm added another win to its season as the Eagles swept Fairmont 25-16, 25-22, 25-14 on Tuesday in a Big South Conference volleyball match.

New Ulm won both conference matches against the Cardinals this season, and both were straight set victories. New Ulm defeated Fairmont earlier on Sept. 8.

It took the Eagles approximately one hour to complete their mission of winning another match. It was Parent’s Night, so that added some additional incentive for the team.

In Set 1, Fairmont held a brief lead before the Eagles regained it and they never looked back. There were only two ties in the set. Afton Hulke’s kill regained the Eagle lead. Ella Landsteiner and Emma Gieseke’s double block made it 11-7 for New Ulm.

Several plays later, Amber Lee and Laura Bertrang made a double block at the net which caused a Fairmont player to miss the ball. That made it 22-12 New Ulm.

Bertrang’s kill brought the Eagles within a point of taking the set. Fairmont’s Brylee Miller hit the ball into the net to give the Eagles the first set.

New Ulm had one problem: it had too many service errors, which not only gave Fairmont points, but it also slightly shifted the momentum to the Cardinals. Fairmont didn’t help its own cause because it made mistakes at inopportune times to shift the momentum back to the Eagles.

“We had quite a few service errors,” Eagles head coach Sarah Swanson-Cullen said. “We were rushing things and we weren’t focusing on the ball.”

Swanson-Cullen said that the Eagles had “more than 10 ace serves.” And, in her mind, that was a good thing which partially contributed to them getting the win.

Despite having only two victories on the season (one in the conference), Fairmont came out fighting in Set 2. Late in the set, Hulke jumped and twisted her body just enough to make a soft tip which resulted in an 18-13 advantage for New Ulm. Bertrang’s kill on the next play added a point for New Ulm.

Fairmont’s Grace Pendergast got a kill, followed by Corene Moeller’s soft tip and Miller’s block at the net cut the Cardinals’ deficit to 21-16. A few plays later, Landsteiner tipped the ball over the net, but the Cardinals could not return it and that gave the set to the Eagles.

“We worked together as a team,” Eagles senior Laura Bertrang said. “We played scrappy. We wanted it more than they did [and] we got them in the end when it mattered.”

Fairmont threw a scare into New Ulm in Set 3. It jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. The Eagles responded with Landsteiner’s block and Bertrang’s soft tip. Ellie Ortega hit the ball into the net after a long rally, which tied it at 3-3. Fairmont got a block to briefly regain the lead.

Hulke answered for the Eagles when she had a soft tip, (to tie the set) and back-to-back ace serves which gave New Ulm a 6-4 lead.

Later in the set, Lee bumped the ball to Bertrang who got a kill. Landsteiner got another ace for the Eagles, which made it 18-12 New Ulm. Evelyn Friese got a block and a kill on consecutive plays which brought the Eagles within a point of winning. Moeller of Fairmont hit the ball out of bounds on the next play to give the Eagles the set and the match.

“The didn’t want to quit,” Swanson-Cullen said. “We did a good job of communicating with each other, and the ball wasn’t dropping where it shouldn’t.”

She observed that both teams had great blocks, but the Eagles had more hits.

Lee had 44 set assists and eight digs for the Eagles. Bertrang added 17 kills and two aces, while Hulke had 11 kills, 15 digs and four aces. Ella Freiderich added 22 digs, Gracie Linbo had 19 digs, Friese had six kills, Gieseke had five kills and Landsteiner had eight kills and four aces.

New Ulm (5-2, 5-1) will play at Jackson County Central at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Swanson-Cullen said that when the two teams played earlier in the Jackson Tournament, it was a “competitive match” and that JCC “is a tough team.”

Fairmont (2-8, 1-3) will play at St. James Area on Thursday.