Knights fail to maintain attack in loss to Vikings
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Ella Schlei (18) spikes the ball past a Bethany Lutheran College blocker on Tuesday in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at MLC.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Bethany Lutheran College’s Avery Carlson digs the ball on Tuesday in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at Martin Luther College.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther College’s Ella Schlei (18) spikes the ball past a Bethany Lutheran College blocker on Tuesday in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at MLC.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Bethany Lutheran College’s Avery Carlson digs the ball on Tuesday in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at Martin Luther College.
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NEW ULM -- The Martin Luther College Knights matched the energy and attack they saw from the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings in the first set of Tuesday's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball match.
Unfortunately for the Knights, they couldn't seem to keep up with the Vikings the rest of the match as the Vikings closed out a four-setter with three consecutive wins, winning 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21.
The Knights had a hitting percentage of .243 to the Vikings' .200 in the first set. The second set and beyond was a much different story for the Knights, however, as they never saw a hitting percentage above .100 after that.
"Bethany stayed consistent through all four, so I didn't think they changed anything, they continued to block really well," Knights head coach Emma Holzhueter said. "We had some mechanical errors that probably came more out of lack of focus -- the intensity of the match, you're just trying to keep so many things in mind. We just kind of let that slip a little bit and it translated into a number of errors."
Lauren Paulsen led the Knights' attack with 13 kills, while Grace Kieselhorst had 11 kills, Ella Schlei had eight kills and Lydia Feidt had seven kills. Anna Kieselhorst led the team in digs with 22, while Feidt had 18 digs, Paulsen added 11 digs and three aces and Grace Kieselhorst had 10 digs and 19 set assists. Ella Walz added 16 set assists.
BLC was led by Lilly Mehrkens' 15 kills, while Maddie Meyer had 12 kills and Lexiss Trygg jad eight kills. Maddi Wendland had 23 digs, while Megan Wenner had 19 digs and Abby Distad had 36 assists and eight digs. Avery Carlson, a 2024 Wabasso High School grad, returned to the New Ulm area by playing two sets and finishing with six digs and an ace serve.
After BLC got within 1, 8-7, on an MLC service error in the first set, the Knights got a 4-0 run capped off on a kill by Grace Kieselhorst to lead 12-7. That 5-point lead was the largest lead MLC had during the set and for the rest of the night as the Vikings hung around in the first set before an error on a set ended the set in favor of MLC.
BLC took firm control in the second set, jumping out to a 12-4 lead after an attack error. A kill by Meyer midway through the set put the Vikings up 16-7, the largest lead of the set for them. Despite a late comeback attempt by the Knights, another MLC attack error led to BLC tying the match up at 1-all.
Just like in Set 2, the Vikings opened the third set strong and took a 12-4 lead after a kill by Maddie Diveley, prompting a Knights timeout. A service ace put BLC up 13-4 out of the timeout for its largest lead of the set. The Knights cut their deficit to 17-13 after a kill from Grace Kieselhorst to force a BLC timeout, but the Vikings again grew their lead out of the timeout to 20-13 before putting the set away on a kill from Meyer.
Set 4 looked closer to Set 1, with the Knights jumping out to a 6-3 lead after a kill from Schlei. The Vikings turned things up midway through the set, though, taking a 19-12 lead after an 8-0 run. While Mehrkens kept the Knights alive at 24-21 after she committed an attack error, she quickly responded with a strong kill to put the match away.
The Knights have only played in their home gym twice so far this season, with a doubleheader on Sept. 28 taking place prior to this Tuesday rematch with BLC. MLC defeated BLC in four sets on Sept. 24.
With much time spent on the road so far this season, the Knights were happy to get back home Tuesday. And despite the loss, there were still positives to take away from it and a lot of that is due to the experience MLC has back this year.
"We have a lot of experience on the court this year," Holzhueter said. "I think in the last couple years we've been a little bit more of a blend of upperclassmen and underclassmen and right now we have a really solid mix of people who have a lot of experience. So, even if they're new to the court, they're not new to the program.
"So, I think we're able to just push a little bit harder because there's a lot less learning curve happening so we can focus in on a lot more of the details to elevate our game that go beyond just learning a position or things like that. The experience and the leadership had just made a big difference in order to play good volleyball."
The Knights (6-16, 3-6) are at St. Olaf for a nonconference match Saturday, while BLC (10-12, 3-5) are at Hamline University for a nonconference match Tuesday.