But the Chargers continued to battle, and after going all out to win the third set 26-24 and the fourth set 25-23, they were in position to pull of the comeback.

And pull it off they did, winning the final set 15-12.

“They feed off of each other,” MVL head coach Johanna Kelly said. “It was high-energy in this gym. It’s a small gym packed full. One of our big things was keeping each other in check and making sure we have high energy but controlled energy. That eliminates mistakes when you can, and that was the recipe for success here tonight.”

Jenna Bates was instrumental in the win for MVL, setting a school record in aces with 11, along with 17 kills, 11 digs and a block. The former record stood for 37 years before Bates got her 11th in the fifth set.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedral’s Shay Wilfahrt works to put the ball past Minnesot Valley Lutheran’s Marley Schauer (5) and Ellie Kaesermann (15) during a nonconference volleyball game Tuesday at Cathedral High School.

“I honestly think a lot of it has to do with my team believing in me,” Bates said. “Just pushing me to become my best especially when I’m serving.”

The prior record was held by Julianne Jahr, who had 10 in a match against Cathedral in 1988.

Kelly complimented Bates’s game, saying she was the kind of player that could be relied upon in all six spots.

“Big in the front row and with aces in the back row,” Kelly said. “She’s pretty happy with her game, and we’re all proud of her.”

Also for the Chargers, Kayla Martin had four kills and two digs, while Olivia Hammer had two kills, seven digs and an ace. Marley Schauer had a kill, four digs, three blocks and two aces, while Nora Krueger had seven digs and 15 set assists. Graysie Black had two aces, seven digs and 11 set assists, while Taryn Gunderson had 23 digs, two aces and two set assists.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Jenna Bates rises up for a spike during a nonconference volleyball game against New Ulm Cathedral Tuesday at Cathedral High School.

Shay Wilfahrt led Cathedral with 23 kills, 18 digs and five aces, while Ava Krueger had 13 kills, 16 digs and five aces. Abbey Hillesheim had 20 set assists 11 digs and three aces, and Margo Finstad had 20 set assists and 15 digs.

Kelly said that mentality was key in the victory for the Chargers, an aspect that the team has been focusing on early in the season.

“That’s part of the maturity piece from last season to this season,” she said. “Even if we are down, weather it’s by points or by sets, the mental game is the most important game. Following through on that is where we were successful for the last three sets there for sure.”

Bates started out the fifth set with three kills and two aces during a 6-1 run to open. Cathedral chipped away at the lead for several points, but two consecutive kills by Bates put MVL back up 13-7. Cathedral went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to a single point, helped by a kill by Shay Wilfahrt, but a kill by Bates and another by Ellie Kaesermann ended the set and the match.

In Set 1, MVL took an initial lead, going up 12-7 after kills by Schauer, Kaesermann and Bates. However, Shay Wilfahrt collected four consecutive kills to cut into the lead, and a few points later, Krueger tied it with a kill of her own. Cathedral took the final 12 points of the match with Shay Wilfahrt serving and Krueger earning three kills to finish out the match with a 25-15 win.

Cathedral extended that streak to 18 consecutive points going into Set 2 as it took a 6-0 lead thanks to two aces from Krueger and a kill from Ashlyn Hillesheim. MVL cut the lead to 7-5 thanks to a 6-1 run, but Cathedral kept the Chargers at bay, winning 25-14 on a kill by Shay Wilfahrt.

Set 3 was close all they way for both teams as MVL fought to stay in the match.

“We really had to work on our mentality and push each other,” Bates said. “Just trusting each other and trust that we have a good team and we can push back and win this … we know we can come back, and we just have to believe in each other really.”

MVL held a small lead throughout much of the set, with the largest lead of the game being 9-4 early on. A kill by Martin and an ace by Gunderson drew a Cathedral timeout as the Chargers maintained a 22-19 lead. Martin recorded another ace before a 3-0 Cathedral run, led by a kill and an ace by Krueger, to cut the MVL lead to 23-22 and force and MVL timeout. Bates got a kill before Shay Wilfahrt took the next two points by kill to tie the game at 24. However, two Cathedral errors gave the Chargers their first win of the match.

“We quit playing together,” Cathedral head coach Becky Wilfahrt said. “We had a lot of energy, we played together, they were communicating really well in the first two sets, and as soon as they saw a little adversity in set three, they got quiet, they quit talking and they just quit playing together. That was the difference.”

Set 4 was just as close as the previous one, but MVL started out with the momentum, taking a 10-2 lead with Bates serving during a 7-0 run with four aces in the stretch. Cathedral fought back quickly, however, and the Greyhounds retook the lead on an ace from Krueger to go up 16-15 and bring out an MVL timeout. MVL went on a 5-1 run in response with two more aces from Bates, and the teams traded points, with an ace by Wilfahrt giving Cathedral a 23-22 lead. However, the Chargers closed out the set with a 3-0 run that ended in an untouched ace serve by Black. The Chargers went on to win Set 5 to complete the comeback.

MVL (2-1) travels to Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial on Thursday, while Cathedral (1-3) plays at Wabasso on Thursday.