“I think that we served a little bit better than usual today,” Cathedral’s Ava Krueger said. “Definitely got our hitters going. We didn’t have as many hitting errors. We still need to improve on our serve receive and blocking but we did well.”

Cathedral head coach Becky Wilfahrt did not have to call a timeout all match for the Greyhounds, letting the team work through the ups and the downs.

“I think our seniors really pulled us together this game,” Ava Krueger said. “When we had a few errors in a row there, we really helped encourage our teammates when they were getting down on themselves. Just as a team we had a stronger atmosphere and a better mental game.”

While Springfield had a tough start to the season, starting 0-9 with only one set won in that span, the Tigers have been improving over the past two weeks, winning nine of 16 sets over the past four matches. However, Cathedral proved to be a tough match for the Tigers, holding them without a set won.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Springfield’s Kendall Krueger (4) tips the ball over the net while defended by New Ulm Cathedral’s Ava Krueger (far left) and Ashlyn Hillesheim (2) during a Tomahawk Division volleyball match Tuesday at Cathedral High School.

Ava Krueger had eight kills, five digs and a block for the Greyhounds, while Shay Wilfahrt had eight kills, three digs and two aces. Margo Finstad had 12 set assists, four digs and an ace, and Abbey Hillesheim had seven set assists, five aces and three digs. Jayde Altermatt had three kills, six digs and a block.

For Springfield, Kendall Krueger had eight kills, 11 digs and two aces, while Olivia Simonson had four kills and nine digs. Sophie Mude had seven set assists, two aces and two digs, and Taylor Roiger had six set assists, four digs and an ace.

Cathedral took an early 9-4 lead in Set 1 thanks to two aces by Shay Wilfahrt. Springfield stormed back to take a 10-9 lead with two kills from Simonson, but the Greyhounds took the lead back with kills from Maddy Hazuka and Ava Krueger. After a kill by Springfield’s Delayna Johnson to cut the lead to 15-13, Cathedral dominated the rest of the set, going on a 10-0 run through two Springfield timeouts, with Abbey Hillesheim collecting three aces during the stretch, to win 25-13.

Cathedral kept the momentum going into Set 2, taking a 14-6 lead on a kill by Altermatt. Springfield cut the lead to 18-13 with help from three kills from Kendall Krueger, but an ace by Cathedral’s Ashlyn Hillesheim forced a Springfield timeout up 21-13. Kills by Simonson and Johnson cut the lead back to 22-16, and Springfield held on with an ace from Mude and a kill by Simonson, but a kill by Shay Wilfahrt and three errors gave the Greyhounds the 25-19 win.

Set 3 was the closest one, with the teams tied at 5-5 with aces by both Ashlyn Hillesheim and Springfield’s Jada Reese. Cathedral climbed out to a 13-8 lead on an ace from Abbey Hillesheim, but Springfield went on a 7-1 run, led by aces from Roiger and Kendall Krueger, to take a 15-14 lead.

Cathedral responded with a run of its own, scoring five unanswered with a kill by Ava Krueger and a block by Ashlyn Hillesheim to take a 19-15 lead. A kill by Hazuka and an error forced a Springfield timeout as the Greyhounds went up 22-17. Springfield managed three more kills, one each from Olivia Milbrath, Kendall Krueger and Gabriella Schenk, but two kills from Ava Krueger and an ace from Altermatt sealed the set and the sweep.

Cathedral (8-9, 4-1) hosts Sleepy Eye on Thursday. Springfield (2-12, 1-4) hosts Cedar Mountain on Thursday.