First, GFW got out to a lead early in the set, then Madelia came back to take the lead from them. Finally GFW made a push towards the end to make the set close again.

But in the end, Madelia was able to hold off the Firebirds each time, coming away with a 25-22, 25-23, 25-16 sweep.

“Just knowing that we know how to play better,” Madelia head coach Melodie DeVlaeminck said. “We always work on trying to fight back, trying to get scrappy. A lot of the times when we go to a game, we kind of get down, so we learned how to pull ourselves out of a hole, and that’s what helped us tonight.

“Not ever giving up on ourselves is what I always tell them. You have a choice, what choice are you going to make.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Madelia’s Makayla Sorenson (13) gets the ball through the block of Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Ella Nachreiner (8) and Natalie Ahlbrecht (7) during a nonconference volleyball match Monday at GFW High School.

Madelia was missing one of its setters, Alicia Lugo, who is out for the season with injury. Senior Lauryn Grev said the team was making the adjustment to her absence.

“I think we’ve adjusted pretty well,” Grev said. “We played with it the first time on Thursday [against Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s], which didn’t go as we hoped, but it was something really new. But I think we adjusted pretty well and we worked well together. Just being supportive and understanding that she’s not normally a setter and just working with it.”

Makayla Sorenson led the Blackhawks with seven kills and 15 digs with an ace, while Grace Tatro had six kills, six digs and eight set assists in relief of Lugo. Grev had three kills, 21 digs and two aces, while Carissa Sorenson had four kills, five digs and two blocks. Adrianne Missling had eight set assists, seven digs and three aces.

For GFW, Ella Nachreiner had 15 kills and three blocks, while Kora Schwarzrock had seven kills. Chloe Henrichs had 18 digs, Lauren Schafer had 13 digs and two aces, and Natalie Ahlbrecht had 13 set assists. Maren Kamkes added 12 set assists, and Kinley Bruns hand nine digs and an ace.

Grev said communication was key for the team to come back in each set.

“I think just talking together and coming in together as a group,” she said. “Taking a breath or shaking it off, saying, ‘You’ve got the next one.’ Really finding the open spots to get the points back and being smart with our plays.”

GFW was able to take a 9-3 lead in Set 1, with three kills by Nachreiner leading the way. Madelia called a timeout, but the Firebirds extended the lead out to 13-5 after a kill by Ahlbrecht. Madelia then went on a 8-2 run, with Grev recording two aces, to cut the lead down to 15-13. GFW recovered with a kill by Schafer to take the lead to 17-13, but 3 more points by the Blackhawks, including kills by Carissa Sorenson and Missling, and GFW took a timeout after Madelia cut the lead to 17-16.

Carissa Sorenson tied the game with a block after the timeout, and the teams traded points for a few serves. Madelia broke the stalemate with a 5-1 run led by a kill by Makayla Sorenson, to take a 24-22 lead. One final error by GFW ended the game.

Once again, the Firebirds took an 8-3 lead to start Set 2, led this time by two kills each from Schafer and Nachreiner. Two more kills by Nachreiner made it an 11-4 game, but Madelia went on a 6-0 run, with a block by Carissa Sorenson leading the way, to cut the lead to 11-10. GFW earned a point on an error, but Madelia went on another 7-0 run, with an ace by Makayla Sorenson and a kill by Carissa Sorenson, to take a 17-12 lead. GFW fought back with a kill by Henrichs to cut the lead to 17-14, but Madelia responded with a 3-0 run of its own to extend the lead to 20-15. The teams traded points for a few serves, then GFW went on a 6-1 lead, again led with two kills and a block by Nachreiner, to tie the game at 23. The Blackhawks called a timeout and were able to finish the game 25-23 as Carissa Sorenson had a kill.

GFW’s lead wasn’t as drastic in the third set, but it was still able to go up 3-1 after an ace by Henrichs and kills by Schwarzrock and Nachreiner. Madelia took a 6-3 lead with help from an ace by Emmy Johnson, and the Blackhawks were able to maintain a small lead until GFW went on a 4-0 run, with Ahlbrecht earning a kill, to go up 12-9. However, Madelia went on a 9-1 run, with kills by Madelyn Lehman, Grev and Makayla Sorenson as well as aces by Carissa Sorenson and Missling, to go up 18-13. Madelia added a 5-0 run, with three kills by Tatro, to take a 23-14 lead. GFW managed to cut the lead to 23-16 with an ace by Henrichs, but kills by Tatro and Makayla Sorenson ended the match.

Madelia (12-16) hosts Martin County West on Friday for its final regular season game, while GFW (1-20) hosts New Ulm Cathedral on Tuesday.