File photo by Travis Rosenau Cedar Mountain’s Mykenna Vollmer sets the ball during a road match with Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s last week. The Cougars were at Minnesota Valley Lutheran for a road match Thursday.

NEW ULM — Cedar Mountain swept Minnesota Valley Lutheran 25-16, 25-17, 25-16 on Thursday in a Tomahawk Conference volleyball match.

It was the sixth win for Cedar Mountain in eight matches.

The Chargers played the Cougars tough and kept Cedar Mountain on its toes from opening serve to final point. Both sides made returns that had Cougars head coach Beth Hill wondering how they did it.

MVL never quit either.

In Set 1, Cedar Mountain built an 11-4 advantage. The Cougars kept adding to their lead.

Teresa Larsen and Paige Rose got a double block at the net to win the set.

The Cougars continued to play well in Set 2. Halley Hollar knocked the ball into the net, which gave MVL a point and it cut the deficit to 9-7. Nadia Meyers answered for Cedar Mountain when she jumped, turned and tipped the ball over the net for a Cougar point. Several plays later, Meyers and Larsen got a double block.

Keanna Hultquist’s tip caused an MVL player to hit the ball into the net, which made it 24-15. Cloey Wildt’s tip secured the winning set point for the Cougars.

In Set 3, the Cougars used their playing instincts and teamwork to keep MVL from staging a comeback. Both teams were not afraid to hit the floor to make a play. Cedar Mountain led 7-2 early in the set.

“These girls have been playing together a long time,” Hill said. “They know each other well, and tonight, we played with a lot of confidence.”

Hill also said her team played well in system and showed their strong chemistry. She was also proud of how well the Cougars played throughout the entire match.

Cedar Mountain continued to add to its lead. Meyers’ kill made it 14-7. The Cougars were not perfect as they had a few miscues which allowed the Chargers to come back. A soft tip by MVL’s front line cut the deficit to 19-14. Meyers’ tip brought the Cougars within 3 points of taking the set.

A Cedar Mountain kill, an out of bounds return my MVL and Kerigan Brau knocked the ball into the net for the set and match point.

“We need to keep working,” Chargers head coach Amy Pearson said.

Pearson said MVL will be participating in a tournament Saturday and that should give the team a chance to continue to improve and gain confidence.

Lauren Baringer had seven digs, Hollar led with 10 kills with 13 digs and Larsen added 10 kills. Meyers had five kills with seven digs and 23 set assists, while Aubrey Steffl had six kills and Mykenna Vollmer had four kills.

Brau led MVL with 19 set assists. Ava Munsen had six digs and nine kills, Gabbie Bleick added six digs with nine kills, Ella Hunter had 14 digs, Becca Kuck had 11 digs and four kills and Mackenzie Merseth had five digs and two kills.

The Cougars (9-3, 3-1) will play at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Monday. MVL (0-11, 0-4) will play in the USC Tournament on Saturday.