File photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm High School’s Ella Landsteiner (3) attacks the ball during a home match with St. Peter earlier this season at NUHS.

NEW ULM — New Ulm High School received the No. 6 seed in the Section 2AAA playoffs on Sunday, leading the Eagles to another matchup with third-seeded St. Peter this Wednesday in St. Peter.

The Eagles dropped an earlier match at home to the Saints in five sets as St. Peter battled back from a 2-1 set deficit to win.

New Ulm then traveled to St. Peter on Oct. 4 and was swept.

Eagles head coach Sarah Swanson-Cullen and her squad know what to expect from St. Peter, but they’ll need to be extra sharp this time around if they want to knock off the 17-5 Saints.

“We are lucky enough to travel to St. Peter on Wednesday for a chance to show St. Peter the team we truly are,” Swanson-Cullen said. “They are a young and scrappy team that puts up a great defense. We will need to utilize a powerful yet tactful offense to catch them off guard. I’m expecting to see a hard-fought match between us and St. Peter. They say it’s difficult to beat a team three times in a season. So we are going to give St. Peter all we’ve got so they don’t have the chance to beat us for the third time.”

Swanson-Cullen said the team will need to bring its strongest offense yet.

“We tend to get timid against St. Peter for some reason,” she said. “Ultimately we will need to be proactive at the net and be scrappy in our coverage of our hitters.”

Swanson-Cullen attributed the successes so far this season to strong senior leadership from middle blocker Laura Bertrang (334 kills, 102 blocks), libero Ella Freiderich (438 digs, 45 aces), middle blocker Emma Gieseke (145 kills) and right-side hitter Ella Landsteiner (243 kills).

“We have four seniors that truly emphasize our on court presence,” Swanson-Cullen said. “Their skills, dedication and personality always provide a sense a guidance to our team whether we are experiencing highs or lows during a game. I can with confidence say that our senior leaders always do their best to make the game fun to play and coach.”

Several juniors have made an impact for the Eagles this season as well, such as outside hitter Afton Hulke (158 kills, 377 digs, 98 aces), setter Amber Lee (316 digs), Evelyn Friese (140 kills) and Gracie Linbo (349 digs), just to name a few.

The Eagles have been consistent this season and stayed above .500 again in a tough Big South Conference and Section 2AAA. Last season the team went 14-10 and the Eagles carry a 13-11 record into Wednesday’s playoff match. In addition to senior leadership, another reason for the consistency has been an improved effort to talk on the court.

“I think one of our biggest improvements has been communication on the court,” Swanson-Cullen said. “In the beginning of the season, when we are just trying to find out what sticks and what doesn’t, sometimes communication can be impacted. Now that we are near the end of the season, I would say the girls have a pretty good understanding of their expectations from me, in terms of how they need to communicate. Additionally, our serve receive has benefited from our increased communication.”

Returning to St. Peter on Wednesday, the Eagles will be looking to extend their season and get some payback in the process.

“When St. Peter beat us in three sets, that was a big game on the line and I think the loss was quite devastating for all,” Swanson-Cullen said. “But I know the girls are looking forward to Wednesday and a chance at redemption.