Jenna Bates led the Chargers with 13 kills, 11 digs, three aces and two blocks, while Olivia Hammer had nine kills, nine digs and two aces. Graysie Black had 26 set assists, two aces, two blocks and eight digs, and Taryn Gunderson had 19 digs and an ace.

MVL fought hard in the first three sets, but a 13-0 run in the middle of Set 4 doomed them to a tough loss in the final game.

MVL started off the first set up 3-0 thanks to an ace by Black, but SJA tied it back up with a 3-0 run of its own. The teams fought back and forth, with MVL building an 8-6 lean on a block by Bates, but SJA fought to go up 14-11. MV fought and cut the lead back to 16-15 after an ace by Hammer and a kill by Ellie Kaesermann, but a 4-0 run by the Saints forced a Chargers timeout. SJA held onto the lead for a 25-21 win.

The Chargers again jumped out to a lead in Set 2, going up 7-2 after kills by Hammer, Kaesermann, Marley Schauer and Bates. SJA cut the lead to 8-5, but a 8-0 run by the Chargers, with kills by Hammer and Bates and an ace by Bates, put them up 16-5. The Saints responded with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 16-11 and continued to battle to cut the lead down to 17-14. MVL got back on track with a kill by Schauer, and a pair of kills by Bates and a kill and an ace by Hammer helped set up the game-ending kill by Bates for a 25-18 win.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Olivia Hammer (12) hits the ball over the net during a nonconference volleyball match against Saint James Area Monday at MVL High School.

SJA was the team that jumped out early in Set 3, taking a 8-2 lead. Three kills by Bates helped trim the lead down to 9-7. SJA responded with a 7-1 run to go up 16-8, and though MVL came back with a 4-0 run, led by two kills by Hammer, to cut the lead back to 16-12, the Saints continued to push, getting the lead out to 24-14. MVL was able to put together a 3-0 run with kills by Kaesermann and Bates, but a kill by Journey Swanson ended the set with a SJA win.

The Saints kept up the momentum in Set 4, going up 5-1 to open then ripping off a 13-0 run to take a 20-3 lead. MVL earned some points with a kill and two aces by Bates to cu t the lead to 24-8, but a serving error ended the set and the match.

MVL (13-13) hosts a Section 2AA Volleyball Tournament match against Holy Family Catholic on Monday.