By Jeff Meder

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM — Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s defeated New Ulm Cathedral 25-17, 25-16, 20-25, 25-13 on Monday in a nonconference volleyball match.

The two foes had squared off on Oct. 3 at St. Mary’s High School, where Cathedral won the first meeting. It was the regular season finale for both teams.

St. Mary’s led for the entire first set. Late in the set, Cathedral’s Shay Wilfahrt’s tip at the net made it 21-13 for St. Mary’s. Reese Hoffmann answered for St. Mary’s with a kill. Madelyn Haala set up Kiah Helget for a tip (22-14 St. Mary’s). A St. Mary’s player tapped the ball which slipped over the net for the set point.

One of the keys for the Knights’ victory was their good defense — which included good blocking at the net — and good offense. The Greyhounds had too many miscues at the wrong time, which meant they could not gain much traction during the match.

St. Mary’s led by as many as 9 points in the second set. Cathedral mounted a strong comeback effort when it cut the deficit to 4 points (18-14) on set by Jenna Hotovec. Haala bumped the ball to Ava Krueger, whose spike earned the point.

St. Mary’s answered when Adelinde Hoffmann set up Josie Helget. Helget got the ball to Kailey Nelson for a kill. On the next play, Hoffmann’s ace brought St. Mary’s closer to taking the set. Cathedral tried to return the ball, but a player hit the ceiling with the ball and it dropped in between two Cathedral defenders which gave St. Mary’s the set.

Cathedral earned its first lead early in the third set. St. Mary’s kept battling back, but it made errors at inopportune times. The Greyhounds were stuck on 24 for a while. Hotovec’s tip settled the matter and Cathedral took the set.

The fourth set was a battle with both teams fighting for control. Cathedral wanted it to go to a fifth set while St. Mary’s wanted to end it here and now. As the set unfolded, St. Mary’s asserted itself and it pulled away for the win. Cathedral tied it early on (3-3). Cathedral was able to get within 1 point at 10-9. Both sides went back and forth for a time. Cathedral had a few unforced errors and back-to-back out-of-bounds returns which gave St. Mary’s the set and the match.

Reese Hoffmann led St. Mary’s with 15 kills, while Helget had 35 set assists and 11 digs. Also for St. Mary’s, Schwartz had four blocks and four kills, Jenica Schroepfer had six kills and 10 digs, Adelinde Hoffmann had nine digs, Natalie Fischer had nine digs and Nelson had six kills.

Wilfahrt had 13 kills, four aces and 25 digs for Cathedral, while Hotovec had nine kills.

Both teams will play their next matches in the Section 2A Tournament. No. 6 Cathedral will at No. 3 Cleveland in the North Subsection. St. Mary’s is the No. 1 seed and it will host the winner of Mankato Loyola versus Nicollet in a South Subsection match.