Staff photo by Ari Selvey Springfield’s Lily Pingeon (9) goes for a kill while Nicollet’s Leah Bode (14) and Kamryn Truebenbach (2) go for the block during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover volleyball match Monday at Nicollet High School.

NICOLLET — Springfield snapped a eight-game losing streak to open the season with a 25-16, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17 win over Nicollet Monday in a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover volleyball match.

“We passed really, really well tonight,” Springfield head coach Tiffany Hillesheim said. “Defensively and serve receive. And we were pretty scrappy, which we haven’t been in the past. So it was good to see the girls chasing balls down and getting them all down when it was needed.”

Lily Pingeon led the Tigers with nine kills, three digs and a block, while Teagan Steffl had seven kills, eight digs and a block. Taylor Roiger had 23 set assists, nine digs and two aces, while Kendall Krueger had six kills, 13 digs, three aces and six blocks.

Leah Bode led the Raiders with seven kills, 15 digs and three blocks, while Mia Lambrecht had 13 set assists. Savannah Klockziem added 11 digs and Cason Forbrook had three ace serves.

Set 1 started out evenly until Springfield went on a 5-0 run behind an ace from Jasmine Novotny and a kill by Pingeon to go up 12-7 and force a Nicollet timeout. Springfield continued to build a lead after the timeout, taking a 17-8 advantage.

Nicollet hung in, cutting the lead to 20-13, but Springfield didn’t allow a large run in response, and a kill by Novotny ended the set with a Springfield win.

Set 2 started strongly for Nicollet, as the Raiders went up 4-1 with help from a kill by Klockziem.

Nicollet head coach Kris Holicky said the team’s confidence and mentality was key in taking the game, as their focus was sharper during the set.

Springfield fought back to tie the game at 7, then took a 9-8 lead. This ended up being the only lead of the set for the Tigers, however, as Nicollet quickly retook the lead, with kills by Maddison Kettner and Forbrook giving Nicollet a 13-11 advantage. Nicollet held on for a tight victory, with a kill by Forbrook starting a 5-0 run to close it out with a 25-21 win.

Springfield came back strong in Set 3, starting with a 4-1 lead of its own. Nicollet similarly came back to tie it at 10, then took a 12-10 lead on a kill by Forbrook.

Springfield settled down, however, battling back with a pair of kills by Pingeon and one each from Steffl and Krueger putting the Tigers up 21-18. A series of Nicollet errors took Springfield the rest of the way for the win.

In a repeat of Set 3, Springfield started off Set 4 with a 4-1 lead on an ace from Krueger. This time, Springfield was on a roll, maintaining the lead for the entire game.

“The girls play better when they’re loose and happy,” Hillesheim said. “It might not look like they’re focused, but that’s how they play the best. I think that had a lot to do with it.”

Nicollet called a timeout down 8-3, then again down 15-8, but Springfield continued to roll, with a kill by Novotney helping the Tigers take a 22-11 lead. Nicollet fought back with a 6-2 run, with a block by Forbrook capping it off. However, a serving error cut the comeback short and gave Springfield the win.

Springfield (1-8) travels to Sleepy Eye on Thursday, while Nicollet (1-3) hosts Mankato Loyola on Monday.