In fact, the third-set loss only made them stronger.

Getting points from all over the floor, the Blackhawks battled back to take the final two sets and earn a 20-25, 25-12, 27-29, 25-18, 15-9 win in a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover volleyball match at Madelia High School.

Grace Tatro led Madelia with 12 kills, 16 digs and two blocks, while Carissa Sorenson had 10 kills and four blocks. Makayla Sorenson had nine kills, 19 digs and four aces, while Lauryn Grev had nine kills, 16 digs and two aces and Adrianne Missling had 12 set assists and four aces.

Senior setter Alicia Lugo was responsible for setting up most of the Blackhawks’ strong attacks in the win as she finished with 16 set assists. She also had 12 digs, three kills and two aces.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Madelia’s Carissa Sorenson, left, goes up to try to block an attack by Springfield’s Delayna Johnson (13) during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover volleyball match on Monday night ay Madelia High School.

“We really needed to have confidence,” Lugo said. “We came in and we had a lot of confidence and then we found a lot of open spots, we cheered loud and then we broke them apart, which I think really helped.”

Madelia head coach Melodie DeVlaeminck said after a tough tournament at St. James on Saturday where the Blackhawks went 1-3, the team was hungry to get home and start the week on a positive note.

“We knew we needed to come in and get a win,” she said. “Going into that third set and losing that by 2 points, we really wanted that last one and wanted to get a win on our home court. So they all worked together, every one of them, this is the best they’ve ever played.”

The Tigers were led by Kendall Krueger’s 16 kills, 25 digs and two aces, while Olivia Simonson’s 11 kills and 16 digs. Taylor Roiger had 18 digs, 14 set assists and five aces, while Jada Reese had 17 digs, Claire Potter had nine digs and Gabby Schenk had two blocks.

Tigers head coach Alissa Roiger said the team’s passing late was what hurt them.

“We switched up our lineup a little bit, we took our libero out and just having our sub in there and just passing the ball,” Roiger said. “Towards the end there, what was getting us was the passes and the errors.”

After the Tigers took Set 1 and Madelia ran away with Set 2, the third set saw the Tigers on the early attack, taking a 5-1 lead after a kill by Sophie Mude. The Tigers kept the lead until the Blackhawks got back-to-back kills from Grev to tie it at 18-all. Moments later, a block by Tatro gave the Blackhawks their first lead of the set at 20-19.

The teams traded leads late until back-to-back kills by Krueger gave the Tigers the 29-27 win.

The Blackhawks trailed again early in the fourth set, falling behind 15-11 after back-to-back kills from Krueger and four consecutive aces by Taylor Roiger. After a kill by Krueger had the score 16-13 for Springfield, Madelia went on a run of its own, getting back-to-back blocks from Carissa Sorenson to cap off a 5-0 run and lead 18-16.

“We do queen of the court after each game for a player that just shows everything and she got it,” DeVlaeminck said of Carissa Sorenson said. “She had a lot of nets calls in that tournament and she didn’t have one tonight. She was a big help on our defensive end and getting a big block.”

The Tigers tied the fourth set at 18-all on a violation, but the Blackhawks finished strong with a 7-0 run, winning the set on an ace from Missling to force one more set.

Trailing 6-5 following an attack error in the fifth set, the Blackhawks tied it on a kill from Makayla Sorenson and promptly turned that kill into a 5-0 run to lead 10-6, never trailing again after that. That run also saw a kill from Carissa Sorenson and back-to-back aces from Makayla Sorenson.

An attack from Tatro was unable to be returned moments later that gave the Blackhawks the set and match.

Following the close defeat, coach Roiger’s message to her players was to continue playing hard.

“The message to them is they’ve got to keep going out there and playing hard,” she said. “To get a set like that, you’ve just got to want it, keep pushing, keep fighting. We’re growing with that.”

The Tigers (2-11) are at New Ulm Cathedral for a Tomahawk Division meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, while the Blackhawks (7-11) host Mankato Loyola in a Valley Division match at 7 p.m. Thursday.