Knights shut out Storm
Morgan Mathiowetz passes 1,000 career digs
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Morgan Mathiowetz, center-back, hugs her cousin Olivia Schieffert after passing 1,000 career digs during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye on Tuesday at St. Mary’s High School. Also pictured from left to right are Taylor Mathiowetz, Audra Hoffmann, Brynne Ibberson and Nell Weiss.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Brynne Ibberson sets the ball during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye on Tuesday at St. Mary’s High School.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye’s Kenley Jensen tips the ball at the net during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Tuesday night at St. Mary’s High School.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau From left to right, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s Knights players Breanna Braulick, Audra Hoffmann, Brynne Ibberson and Olivia Schieffert celebrate after Morgan Mathiowetz picked up a big point during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye on Tuesday at St. Mary’s High School.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Morgan Mathiowetz, center-back, hugs her cousin Olivia Schieffert after passing 1,000 career digs during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye on Tuesday at St. Mary’s High School. Also pictured from left to right are Taylor Mathiowetz, Audra Hoffmann, Brynne Ibberson and Nell Weiss.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Brynne Ibberson sets the ball during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye on Tuesday at St. Mary’s High School.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye’s Kenley Jensen tips the ball at the net during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Tuesday night at St. Mary’s High School.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau From left to right, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s Knights players Breanna Braulick, Audra Hoffmann, Brynne Ibberson and Olivia Schieffert celebrate after Morgan Mathiowetz picked up a big point during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match against Sleepy Eye on Tuesday at St. Mary’s High School.
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SLEEPY EYE -- The Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Knights got back on track Tuesday night at the expense of their crosstown rivals, sweeping the Sleepy Eye Storm 25-19, 25-11, 25-14 in a Tomahawk-Valley Conference volleyball match at St. Mary's High School.
The Knights, who were swept by Cleveland on Monday at home, improved to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in the Tomahawk with the win. Sleepy Eye, which lost in four sets to Red Rock Central at home on Monday, fell to 5-7 overall and 2-2 in the Tomahawk with the loss.
Morgan Mathiowetz led the Knights with 13 kills and 14 digs, which saw her pass 1,000 digs for her career. She now sits at 1,003 career digs.
While Mathiowetz is often asked to lead the Knights' attack, her all-around play and ability has led to a standout defensive career also at St. Mary's. That's something she's been proud to contribute in addition to the points she's racked up.
"Giving my teammates the opportunity to be successful [means a lot] and just knowing that people in the back row when I'm in the front row are setting me up with good passes allowing me to get kills," Morgan Mathiowetz said. "Just giving that back to my teammates and just appreciating what they do throughout the whole game … and just working together as a team."
Audra Hoffmann added seven kills and seven digs for the Knights, while Brynne Ibberson had 20 set assists and 10 digs and Taylor Mathiowetz had seven digs.
The Storm were led by Callie Evers, who had seven kills and 10 digs, while Ava Kunkel had 13 set assists and seven digs and Jace Schauman had 13 digs.
Set 1 saw Sleepy Eye storm out to a quick 4-1 lead, getting two kills from Evers in that time. But the Knights got a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 lead, with an ace from Olivia Schieffert and back-to-back kills by Hoffmann ending that run. An attack error and a kill from Karly Wendinger had the Storm back in front momentarily, but the Knights went on a run moments later to lead 12-9.
A 4-0 run midway through the set put the Knights up 19-12 and forced a Storm timeout. The Knights extended their lead to 21-13 after the timeout, but the Storm got a 3-0 run to hang around and force a Knights timeout. Kenley Jensen had back-to-back kills during that run. Sleepy Eye stretched that 3-0 run into a 6-0 run after a kill from Makayla Strong, Evers and another from Strong to have Sleepy Eye down just 21-19. However, the Knights got it together and finished the set with a 4-0 run.
"I think they were just taking advantage of the points that we were down and just seeing our weaknesses and really targeting in on those," Morgan Mathiowetz said. "I think just for us … just continuing to get better and knowing what they are so we can adjust to it throughout the game."
Sleepy Eye took an early lead in Set 2 also, leading 5-2 early on after a 5-0 run that saw an ace from Kunkel and a block from Strong. The Knights responded with a 4-0 run, with an ace by Morgan Mathiowetz tying the game. After Morgan Mathiowetz's next serve resulted in an error to tie the set up again, the Knights regrouped and put together an 8-0 run to lead 14-6, with a kill from Taylor Mathiowetz capping off the run. The Knights dominated the rest of the set and won it on a Morgan Mathiowetz kill.
Set 3 saw the Storm again take a small lead early on, 5-3, but kills from Hoffmann and Taylor Mathiowetz tied it before an attack error gave the Knights a 6-5 lead. The Knights continued their attack and increased their lead to 10-5, with Morgan Mathiowetz picking up her 1,000th career dig during the run. After a Kunkel kill had the Storm down 12-7, the Knights got a 5-0 run to lead 17-7. The Knights' largest lead in the set was 13 points and they finished the set with a win after a Sleepy Eye service error.
The Knights host Lester Prairie at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Tomahawk action, while Sleepy Eye hosts New Ulm Cathedral on Thursday in another 7 p.m. Tomahawk matchup.