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Cathedral comes together for 4-set win over Nicollet

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedral’s Ava Krueger (5) and Jaylin Hartness (2) go up for a block against Nicollet’s Leah Bode (14) during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover volleyball match Tuesday at Cathedral High School.

NEW ULM — Despite a shaky start, New Ulm Cathedral put together a convincing fourth set to win 25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 25-12 in a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover volleyball match against Nicollet on Tuesday.

Cathedral nearly let Nicollet back into Sets 1 and 3 and went down by as much as 7 in Set 2, but there was never a doubt late in Set 4 as the Greyhounds sent the Raiders home.

“In our fourth set, I think we really connected well with our setters and our hitters,” Cathedral’s Jaylin Hartness said. “I think we got better passes, which led to our setter to get a better set to the outside or to a hitter so they could swing away and put the ball in.”

Shay Wilfahrt led the Greyhounds with 20 kills, 20 digs, three aces and two blocks, while Ava Krueger had 13 kills, 15 digs and two aces. Madelyn Haala had 16 set assists, while Ashlyn Hillesheim had 17 digs.

Cason Forbrook had seven kills for the Raiders, while Savannah Klockziem had 10 digs and Cheyenne Klockziem had three blocks. Kamryn Truebenbach had nine digs, and Leah Bode had three blocks. Mia Lambrecht had 18 set assists.

The teams kicked it off with an even battle in Set 1, with neither team going up by a significant amount until Wilfahrt got a kill to spark a 4-0 run for Cathedral, putting them up 22-16. After a Nicollet timeout, the Raiders fought back to within 22-18 with help from a pair of Cathedral errors, but kills by Wilfahrt and Hartness put the game away for the Greyhounds as they won 25-19.

Cathedral carried the momentum into Set 2, going up 3-0 with kills by Wilfahrt and Olivia Macho, but Nicollet went on a 12-2 run on kills by Forbrook, Cheyenne Klockziem and Madison Kettner, along with an ace from Bode, with the Greyhounds struggling with their serve-receive in the game. Cathedral righted the ship somewhat after a timeout, going even with Nicollet and battling to cut the lead to 23-20 on a kill by Krueger. However, Cathedral was unable to complete the comeback as a pair of errors sealed the win for the Raiders.

Cathedral got things back on track in Set 3, going up 8-3 on an ace by Krueger and a kill by Abbey Hillesheim. Nicollet called a timeout with the score at 12-6 and fought to bring the game to within a point, 14-13, spreading the kills to Forbrook, Bode, Kettner and Savannah Klockziem. Cathedral responded with a timeout, and an ace by Macho helped build back a 3-point cushion for Cathedral before the Greyhounds went on a 4-0 run to go up 23-18. A kill by Wilfahrt sealed the game for Cathedral.

Cathedral saw much fewer problems getting passes to the setters in Game 4, and it resulted in a 13-point victory for the Greyhounds.

“When we came in for the next set, we all closed our eyes and imagined passing well and serving well,” Hartness said. “I think that helped us.”

While Nicollet stayed within a point or two early, they were unable to keep up with Cathedral late, as the Greyhounds finished out the set with a 14-2 run, with Wilfahrt collecting nine kills in the stretch.

Cathedral (9-11) next plays Mankato Loyola at home on Monday. The game should feature a milestone for Cathedral, as setter Madelyn Haala sits at 997 career set assists, giving fans something to took forward to. Nicollet (5-15) travels to Cleveland on Thursday.

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