Cards shut down Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA - Missing one of its top hitters, Willmar looked at the family tree for a seamless replacement.

As Sydney Olson nursed a sprained ankle she suffered during practice, younger sister Bailey came in and tallied eight kills and an ace block in the team's three-set Central Lakes Conference victory over Alexandria on Thursday.

"Bailey came in and I don't feel like it changed anything," said Willmar head coach Traci Grussing. "They trust her; they are very confident in each other. ... Bailey came in and didn't get rattled."

Alexandria was able to hang with Willmar in the first set, only for Willmar to strengthen its play over the final two. Caitlin Ogdahl was the team's top hitter with 13 kills along with 14 digs and two ace serves. Carly Wedel facilitated the offense with 30 set assists.

"We did a better job tonight of getting started right away instead of getting down early," Grussing said.

It was also a milestone night for Grussing as she picked up her 500th career win, becoming the 19th coach in state history to hit that milestone, per the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association.

"I've really been blessed with a lot of girls that work hard," she said. "They make it easy to be successful."

On Tuesday, Willmar (15-5, 8-0 CLC) returns home for a conference match against St. Cloud Tech.

Willmar 3, Alexandria 0

Willmar (15-5) 25 25 25

Alexandria (9-11) 22 16 18

Willmar

Serving (aces): Callie Slagter 1, Cambrie Parker 2, Caitlin Ogdahl 2 ... Set assists: Carly Wedel 30, Abby Stark 3... Hitting (kills): Wedel 3, Ogdahl 13, Bailey Olson 8, Grace Marti 6, Abby Teisinger 5, Sydney Schnichels 1 ... Blocking (aces): Wedel 1, B. Olson 1, Marti 2, Schnichels 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Stark 12, Slagter 7, Parker 8, Ogdahl 14, Wedel 10

Alexandria

No stats available

NLS 3,

DC 1

New London-Spicer dropped the first set but rebounded to win in four against Dassel-Cokato on Thursday.

NLS had three players with double-digit kills, led by Aleah Zieske with 12. She also had three ace blocks.

Ashlyn Olson and Kendra Bagley both had 10 kills and Hunter Paffrath and Presley Arndt-Callenius combined for 39 set assists.

D-C (5-14) 25 22 16 19

NLS (7-13) 20 25 25 25

Dassel-Cokato

Stats not provided

New London-Spicer

Serving (aces): Ashton Engelke 2, Mya Krause 4, Presley Arndt-Callenius 1 ... Set assists: Hunter Paffrath 21, Arndt-Callenius 18 ... Hitting (kills): Aleah Zieske 12, Ashlyn Olson 10, Engelke 1, Ava Kramer 3, Emma Hanson 5, Kendra Bagley 10, Payton Mages 5, Arndt-Callenius 1 ... Blocking (aces): Zieske 3, Olson 3, Kramer 1, Hanson 1, Mages 5 ... Digs (5 or more): Engelke 16, Emily Novak 17, Paffrath 12, Bagley 7, Mya Krause 18, Arndt-Callenius 6

NUC 3,

BLHS 2

New Ulm Cathedral earned a narrow 16-14 win in the fifth set to edge Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Thursday evening.

Sara Kottke finished with 20 kills and Allison Dornseif tallied 41 set assists to pace the Mustangs.

BLHS (8-15) 25 25 9 25 14

NUC (13-8) 23 27 25 21 16

Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart

Serving (aces): Alyssa Petersen 1, Katie Buboltz 3 ... Set assists: Allison Dornseif 41 ... Hitting (kills): Marissa Ebbers 2, Alyssa Petersen 9, Sara Kottke 20, Rachel Dean 11, Kimberly Novotny 4, Dornseif 2 ... Blocking (aces): Kottke 3, Dean 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Ebbers 15, Petersen 15, Kottke 8, Buboltz 22, Chloe Ufkes 9, Dean 5, Dornseif 11

New Ulm Cathedral

Stats not provided

BBE 3,

Holdingford 0

BBE cruised to win No. 15 with a sweep against Holdingford.

Ally Gruber took the lead with 11 kills, just ahead of Brittany Berge's 10.

Holdingford (3-14) 14 15 14

BBE (15-2) 25 25 25

Holdingford

Stats not provided

BBE

Serving (aces): Ally Gruber 2, Brittany Berge 1, Emily Kern 3, Grace Illies 1, Jacqueline Gossen 1, Karsee Kampsen 3 ... Set assists: Illies 1, Kampsen 30 ... Hitting (kills): Gruber 11, Berge 10, Emily Knight 5, Illies 4, Kampsen 2, Katherine Mastey 6 ... Blocking (aces): Knight 3, Mastey 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Gruber 6, Kern 12, Illies 8, Kampsen 5, Nicole Thonvold 6

EVW 3,

Paynesville 1

Eden Valley-Watkins rallied from a 1-0 deficit to pull off a strong win against Paynesville Thursday night in Paynesville.

Abby Schaefer had  21 kills and three ace serves while teammate Olivia Riley racked up 25 digs and two ace serves.

EVW  19 25 25 26

Paynesville 25 21 20 2419 25 25 26

Eden Valley-Watkins

Stats not provided

Paynesville

Serving (aces): Jenna Lundquist 1, Madi Leyendecker 2, Olivia Riley 2, Abby Schaefer 3 ... Set assists: Lundquist 25, Leyendecker 16, Riley 4, Skylar Bayer 1 ... Hitting (kills): Lundquist 6, Bayer 15, Schaefer 21, Harley Kunstleben 6 ... Blocking (aces): Schaefer 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Riley 25, Bayer 11, Schaefer 7

Morris/CA 3,

ACGC 0

Morris/Chokio-Alberta defeated ACGC in three sets on Thursday night in Morris.

Lexi Pew led the Tigers' balanced hitting attack with nine kills and she also had two blocks. Bailey Marty had seven kills and served four aces, and Liz Dietz and LaRea Kram combined on 27 set assists.

ACGC's Shayna Hobson led the team with six kills and Rachel Wilner had 14 set assists.

ACGC (3-14) 17 16 9

Morris/CA (10-6) 25 25 25

ACGC

Serving (aces): None ... Set assists: Rachel Wilner 14 ... Hitting (kills): Shayna Hobson 6, Lindsey Minnick 3, Erika Tagtow 3, R. Wilner 1, Alexis Schmidt 1 ... Blocking (aces): None ... Digs (5 or more): Jeana Denton 9, R. Wilner 7

Morris/Chokio-Alberta

Serving (aces): Bailey Marty 4, Kenzie Hockel 1, Riley Decker 1 ... Set assists: Liz Dietz 15, LaRea Kram 12 ... Hitting (kills): Lexi Pew 9, Marty 7, Emma Berlinger 4, Jen Solvie 4, Hockel 4, Sophie Carlson 3, , Kram 1 ... Blocking (aces): Hockel 2, Pew 2, Berlinger 1, Carlson 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Decker 11

SC 3,

Benson 0

Sauk Centre improved to 18-1 with a three-set win over Benson on Thursday.

Benson's Claire Ricard had seven kills and Rachel Berens had four. Mariah Ahrndt had 10 set assists, three kills and a block.

Benson (4-12) 17 17 12

Sauk Centre (18-1) 25 25 25

Benson

Serving (aces): Mariah Ahrndt 1, Zoe Doscher 1 ... Set assists: Ahrndt 10, Ellie Moesenthin 7, Claire Ricard 1, Abbie Mitteness 1 ... Hitting (kills): Ricard 7, Rachel Berens 4, Ahrndt 3, Beth Cain 3, Maranda Wieber 2 ... Blocking (aces): Ahrndt 1, Ricard 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Mitteness 14, Cain 5, Berens 5

Sauk Centre

No stats provided

BOLD 3,

Melrose 1

BOLD hit a pothole in the second set but settled down and downed Melrose in four games on Thursday.

BOLD improved to 16-1 behind Makenna Steffel, who finished with 15 kills, two ace blocks and 13 digs.

The Warriors' Ashley Trongard had 13 kills and a block and Makayla Snow had 33 set assists and 23 digs.

BOLD (16-1) 25 13 25 25

Melrose (13-6) 14 25 15 20

BOLD

Serving (aces): Makayla Snow 2, Devyn O'Halloran 2, Morgan Schmitz 1, Ashley Trongard 1 ... Set assists: Snow 33 ... Hitting (kills): Makenna Steffel 15, Trongard 13, Morgan Schmitz 6 ... Blocking (aces): Steffel 2, Alex Revier 1, Trongard 1, Snow 1, Schmitz 1, Paige Plumley 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Snow 23, Brenna Weis 23, Steffel 13

Melrose

No stats provided

Montevideo 3,

Minnewaska 2

Noelle Sulflow took over from the service line in the deciding fifth set to power Montevideo past Minnewaska in a nailbiter Thursday night.

Sulflow finished the match with seven ace serves and 28 set assists and teammate Cali Christianson racked up a match-high 22 kills for the Thunder Hawks.

Montevideo (5-14) 25 28 25 15 15

Minnewaska (10-9) 15 30 19 25 8

Montevideo

Serving (aces): Liv Gades 2, Cali Christianson 1, Noelle Sulflow 7, Mackenzie Hoidal 1 ... Set assists: Gades 15, Sulflow 28 ... Hitting (kills): Megan Anderson 3, Maddie Kilibarda 7, Christianson 22, Sulflow 4, Hoidal 1, Jasmyn Kronback 11, Sydney Zindel 5 ... Blocking (aces): Kilibarda 2, Kronback 2, Zindel 2 ... Digs (5 or more): Gades 10, Christianson 13, Sulflow 8, Hoidal 19, Kronback 5

Minnewaska

Serving (aces): Sierra Lindemann 1, Kristen Glover 3, Emma Thorfinnson 2, Alexis Piekarski 2 ... Set assists: Sara Geiser 20, Avery Hoeper 3, Piekarski 2... Hitting (kills): Ellie Danielson 14, Glover 1, Thorfinnson 8, Geiser 2, Hoeper 1, Makenna Panitzke 1, Piekarski 6 ... Blocking (aces): Hoeper 1, Danielson 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Danielson 6, Glover 15, Thorfinnson 17, Geiser 10, Hoeper 18, Piekarski 8

RCW 3,

CMCS 2

Renville County West won the deciding fifth match in a back-and-forth affair with Central Minnesota Christian Thursday night.

Lauren Wulf led all players with 41 set assists for the Jaguars and Avery Elfering finished with 17 kills and 28 digs.

Molly Mulder finished with 27 digs for the Bluejays.

RCW (5-13) 25 25 25 17 15

CMCS (5-16) 27 18 22 25 10

Renville County West

Serving (aces): Avery Elfering 1, Makenna Bruns 1, Alyssa Ashburn 2, Lauren Wulf 2, Katie Marr 1, Vanessa Savig 3 ... Set assists: A. Elfering 3, Wulf 41, Savig 2 ... Hitting (kills): A. Elfering 17, Bruns 3, Emma Mott 5, Riley Elfering 4, Wulf 3, Marr 9, Leslie Gonzalez 7 ... Blocking (aces): A. Elfering 2, Bruns 2, R. Elfering 1, Wulf 4, Marr 1 ... Digs (5 or more): A. Elfering 28, Bruns 9, Ashburn 5, Wulf 10, Savig 12, Gonzalez 5

Central Minnesota Christian School

Serving (aces): Sadie VanderPol 3, Molly Mulder 4, Torri Muzik 4, Elli Stoel 4 ... Set assists: Coco Duininck 32, Megan Slagter 1 ... Hitting (kills): VanderPol 9, Mulder 9, Emma Van Dyken 9, Stoel 8, Slagter 1 ... Blocking (aces): Duininck 1, Van Dyken 2 ... Digs (5 or more): Melanie Beerman 8, VanderPol 11, Mulder 27, Muzik 12

Lakeview 3,

D-B 1

Lakeview topped Dawson-Boyd Thursday night despite a 14-kill match by Karoline Dahl. Dahl also added 15 digs, just behind teammate Amelia Olson's team-best 17.

Lakeview (11-8) 25 25 20 25

D-B (3-14) 22 21 25 19

Lakeview

Stats not provided

Dawson-Boyd

Serving (aces): Tarah Johnson 1, Karoline Dahl 1 ... Set assists: Mary Bothun 1, Johnson 1, Megan Mamer 2, Lydia Aafedt 32, Amelia Olson 2, Rachel Hahn 1 ... Hitting (kills): Avery Bartunek 6, Bothun 12, Mamer 3, Aafedt 1, Dahl 14, Olson 1, Hahn 3 ... Blocking (aces): Bartunek 2, Mamer 1, Dahl 4 ... Digs (5 or more): Barutnek 7, Bothun 10, Johnson 7, Aafedt 12, Dahl 15, Olson 17, Hahn 5

KMS 3,

MACCRAY 2

MACCRAY bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set but KMS held on in a Camden Conference match that couldn't get much closer.

Lauren Krieger racked up 22 kills for the home team while teammate Mallory Rudningen finished with 44 set assists. Her setting opponent, Sydney Thein, finished with an impressive 40 set assists in her own right.

KMS held on for a 17-15 fifth set victory to move to .500 on the season.

MACCRAY (9-11) 18 21 25 25 15

KMS (8-8) 25 25 23 15 17

MACCRAY

Serving (aces): Sydney Thein 2, Ella Bourne 2, Piper Asche 1, Abigail Pieper 3 ... Set assists: Thein 40 ... Hitting (kills): Thein 1, Danni Burns 8, Kylee Kimpling 10, Asche 21, Gabby Randt 1, Annie Dykema 4 ... Blocking (aces): Asche 1, Thein 2, Kimpling 3 ... Digs (5 or more): Thein 13, Bourne 19, Burns 15, Kate Hultgren 19, Pieper 5, Jami Heida 16, Asche 7

KMS

Serving (aces): Katie Krieger 2, Lauren Krieger 1, Maret Gjerde 1, Mallory Rudningen 1, Halie Nichols 1 ... Set assists: K Krieger 2, Gjerde 1, Haylee Johnson 1, Rudningen 44 ... Hitting (kills): K Krieger 1, L Krieger 22, Lexy Swanson 3, Gjerde 6, Lydia Wagner 11, Johnson 6, Rudningen 3, Morgan Lesteberg 1 ... Blocking (aces): Swanson 1, Wagner 2, Johnson 3, Rudningen 1... Digs (5 or more): K. Krieger 23, L. Krieger 10, Swanson 5, Gjerde 17, Johnson 8, Rudningen 12, Nichols 14, Lesteberg 17

YME 3,

LQPV 0

Meeghen Dahlager led Yellow Medicine East with 13 kills and a pair of solo blocks against Lac qui Parle Valley on Thursday.

Mackenzie Dyrdahl and Alli Steffen both had six kills, and Dyrdahl also served four aces.

YME (16-5) 25 25 25

LQPV (3-15) 17 13 11

Yellow Medicine East

Serving (aces): Mackenzie Dyrdahl 4, Madison Hinz 2, Lily Jaenisch 2, Abby Jaenisch 2, Alli Steffen 2, Meeghen Dahlager 1 ... Set assists: Hinz 30, Dahlager 1 ... Hitting (kills): Dahlager 13, Dyrdahl 6, Steffen 6, Anayansi Flores 4, Hinz 3, Jadyn Sakry 2 ... Blocking (aces): Dahlager 2, Flores 1, Dyrdahl 1, Steffen 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Dyrdahl 14, Dahlager 13, Hinz 9, A. Jaenisch 8

Lac qui Parle Valley

Stats not provided