Staff photo by Ari Selvey Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart’s Lauren Hubin goes up for a spike during a Section 2A Volleyball Tournament match against Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Thursday at St. Peter High School.

ST. PETER — Top-seeded Buffalo Lake-Hector Stewart stayed tough during the second round of the Section 2A Volleyball Tournament on Thursday, coming away with a 27-25, 25-18, 25-17 sweep of Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Thursday at St. Peter High School.

“It was close right away,” BLHS head coach Aaron Hubin said. “I think getting everybody involved more and gaining confidence as we went on really helped. When our blocks started to pick up and we frustrated them, I thought that gave us more confidence and it turned into more points for us.”

GHEC/T/ML got a 19-kill performance out of outside hitter Londyn Bowers, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the sweep.

“We didn’t limit her, but we obviously focused on her,” coach Hubin said. “We knew that if we could get touches and slow her down, good things would happen for us. We started blocking her even on her back row attacks, and that was huge.”

BLHS started the first set with a 3-1 lead thanks to kills by Chloe Schultz and Lily Hubin. The Jaguars battled back to tie it at 6 on a kill by Bowers and the team traded a few points before the Mustangs went on a 5-0 lead, led by two aces by EB Ovitt, to take a 13-8 lead. GHEC/T/ML called a timeout, and one again the Jaguars fought to cut the lead to 16-14 with three more kills by Bowers. The teams continued to battle back, with a kill by Lily Hubin bringing the game to a 22-22 tie. Bowers got a kill to take a 25-24 lead, but BLHS took the final three points of the match, with two kills coming from Lauren Hubin, to take the 27-25 win.

The Jaguars were the ones to take an early lead in Set 2, going up 3-1. BLHS fought to tie the game at 9 on a kill by Lily Hubin, then the Mustangs extended the lead out to 18-14 on an ace by Kelsey Ulrich to force a Jaguars timeout. GHEC/T/ML cut the lead down to 21-18, bringing out a BLHS timeout, and the Mustangs scored the final four points of the game, with a block by Lily Hubin sealing the 25-18 win.

BLHS held a 6-3 lead early in Set 3, but the Jaguars went on a 3-0 run, led by two kills by Bowers, to tie the game at 6. BLHS went on a 7-1 run to go up 13-7, but GHEC/T/ML responded with a 6-0 run to tie it again at 13. BLHS scored the next 6 points with three kills by Lauren Hubin, and an ace by Ulrich ace ended the set and the match with a 25-17 BLHS win.

BLHS advances to play fourth-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Tuesday.

“We need to stay on the gas,” coach Hubin said. “We need to get everybody involved early and stay confident and know that we’re the number one seed for a reason and play like it.