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Mathiowetz’s milestone night leads Knights past Cougars

Senior hitter reaches 1,000 career kills, Knights take lead in Tomahawk Division

6 min read

SLEEPY EYE -- Early in the third set of a Tomahawk Division volleyball match between Sleepy Eye St. Mary's and Cedar Mountain, St. Mary's Morgan Mathiowetz got her 12th kill of the match to take a 2-1 lead for the Knights with the match score tied at 1.

That kill made Mathiowetz the second St. Mary's volleyball player to reach 1,000 career kills, helped push St. Mary's to break the match tie to take the third set, and ultimately led the Knights to a 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 win over the Cougars in a pivotal division matchup.

""I think that's the best part," Mathiowetz said. "Just seeing the competition tonight, the atmosphere in the gym is something special. It's different playing in such a competitive game and just being fired up with you teammates. Getting [1,000 digs] in this game is something that not everybody gets to experience, so I'm just very fortunate."

Mathiowetz, who hit 1,000 career digs earlier in the season, credited her teammates and the ours of practice they put in together.

"I think this one is really special," Mathiowetz said. "Joining Nicole [Steffl] Fuchs, who was a phenomenal athlete, it's really special to me to be able to join her in this milestone. It just shows our team and how they practice and work hard. I continue to work on my goals and see myself succeed and my team as well."

With the win, St. Mary's takes the lead in the Tomahawk Division, boasting a perfect 6-0 record in division and handing Cedar Mountain its first division loss with two division games left to play for both teams.

"We knew Cedar Mountain was a top contender in the conference this year, and they're a very strong team," St. Mary's head coach Crissi Mangen said. "They have two great attackers, and we knew we had to block them. I thought we did a better job in those last three sets of blocking them and playing defense a little bit better. Still let some balls go, but it ended up in our favor."

St. Mary's has conference games against Springfield and New Ulm Cathedral remaining and controls its own destiny on the path to the Tomahawk-Valley Conference Championship game.

"It means a lot," Mangen said. "This is what we've worked for all year. The Tomahawk [Division] is super tough, so being able to be a top contender in the conference is huge for us and our volleyball program."

Mathiowetz finished the night with 19 kills and 18 digs, while Audra Hoffmann had 18 kills and 18 digs with seven blocks. Brynne Ibberson had 40 set assists and 10 digs.

Kendra Erickson had 14 kills, 12 set assists and 15 digs to pace the Cougars, while Reagyn Kleinschmidt had 12 kills and 19 set assists. Aubrey Steffl had 12 kills and 18 digs.

"[St. Mary's] plays hard," Cedar Mountain head coach Beth Hill said. "They go all out."

St. Mary's jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set on an ace by Olivia Schieffert, then a block by Hoffmann put the Knights advantage at 11-5 as Cedar Mountain called a timeout. The Cougars come out of the break with an 11-3 run to take a 16-14 lead, with Erickson earning three kills during the stretch. St. Mary's put together a quick 3-0 run to take the lead back, but the Cougars pushed ahead with a 5-0 run, with Kleinschmidt getting a kill and a block to put the Cougars up 23-18. An ace from Evy Heibel finished out the set with a 25-19 Cedar Mountain win.

"We were playing more aggressive [in Set 1] instead of a passive game," Hill said.

The Cougars kept the momentup into the second set, gong up 6-3 after a kill by Kleinschmidt. The Knights responded with a 4-0 run, with Hoffmann earning three kills, to take a 7-6 lead, and the teams traded points for several serves, but the Knights eventually went on a 3-0 run, with Mathiowetz getting a kill, to go up 18-12 and force a Cedar Mountain timeout. The Cougars put together a 7-1 run, with three kills by Steffl, and looked like they were going to steal another one away, but the Knights steadied with a 4-0 run as Hoffmann collected a block and two kills to go up 23-19. Cedar Mountain pushed to tie the game again at 23 with help from a kill by Steffl, but A kill by Mathiowetz and a violation gave St. Mary's the Set 2 win.

After Mathiowetz got her milestone kill early in Set 3, St. Mary's continued to feed Mathiowetz, as she earned three kills and two aces to put the Knights up 9-5. The Cougars come back to tie the set at 9 on a kill by Steffl, but St. Mary's went on a 7-2 run to go up 16-11 as Cedar Mountain called a time out. The Cougars scored 4 unanswered, with Erickson earning a kill, to cut the lead to 17-16, but St. Mary's came back with a 5-0 run, with Hoffmann earning a kill and a block, to go up 22-16. Cedar Mountain went on a 3-0 run as Kleinschmidt earned a kill, but a kill by Hoffmann sparked a 3-0 run for the Knights as St. Mary's took a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4 was tight early, with neither team able to gain much of an advantage. The Knights broke way with a kill by Hoffmann and two aces by Mathiowetz to go up 16-11 as Cedar Mountain called a timeout, and the Cougars worked back to cut the lead to 20-18 on an ace by Heibel. A St. Mary's timeout helped the Knights regroup, and once again they stifled the Cedar Mountain comeback, finishing off the set with a 5-0 run as Mathiowetz got the match-ending kill.

"I think we just knew we had to give it our all and leave everything on the court," Mathiowetz said. "If we didn't come away with the win, we could still be really happy with our performance. But I think we left everything out there. There are still some things to improve on, some small things that I think will take us to the next level."

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