Chargers down McLeod West

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Minnesota Valley Lutheran middle hitter Eva Voss threw her birthday bash on the MVL volleyball court as the Chargers defeated McLeod West 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 in Tomahawk Conference volleyball action Thursday night.

Voss finished the day with 10 kills and four digs as the Chargers improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

"I knew that I wanted to come out and not be lazy and play well," Voss said. "I just wanted to get a win on my birthday. We had a game on my birthday last year too, and we won."

The Falcons jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first game before Brianna Czer's hit ended the Falcons run.

Later in the game, Amy Paul's crosscourt tip surprised the Chargers and McLeod West went up 8-4.

"We just started working on tipping recently," Paul said. "We were trying to tip to different positions in practice -- we just started that now. But usually I try to get the best kill I can unless I think I'm going to get blocked."

But the Chargers came back and took the lead thanks in part to the serving by Karissa Kramer. Her serving frustrated the Falcons defense and she had three service aces in a run that put the Chargers up 17-13. Nicki Flygare's tip put the Chargers up 19-13, prompting another timeout for McLeod West.

"We've kind of been known for coming back lately from deficits in the games," Voss said. "So, it didn't really surprise me that they'd pull it out sometimes and then we'd come back from that."

In the second game, the Falcons went up again early and took a 4-0 lead. Paul again successfully landed a tip near the baseline that gave her team an 8-5 edge.

"I know that they're real scrappy, because I saw them over the weekend, so I knew that they were a never-say-die kind of team," MVL coach Julie Detjen said. "I knew we couldn't let up, because they had beaten Springfield 3-2, and we had a tough time with Springfield in our first win here."

Just like the first game, MVL fought back and both teams traded sideouts until Voss had a tip and a kill that tied the game at 23. After a McLeod West timeout, Kramer finished the game at the line and the Chargers won 25-23.

"Actually for once, we didn't have anyone look up at the score, and we knew we just had to take care of the ball on our side," Detjen said. "We knew we probably had the size advantage, and we knew we could get some one-on-one situations once we got the ball in the hands of our hitters."

"I think we just got down on ourselves and weren't very encouraging," Paul said after her team relinquished the lead for a second straight game.

Game Three was a mirror of the first two when McLeod West led 8-5, only to see it slowly evaporate.

The game was tied 19-19 late, but Kelsey Krohn's hit put the Chargers up 20-19 and they kept the lead the rest of the way in the 25-20.

"There's always stuff to work on, but I'm pleased with the three-game win," Voss said.

Andrea Ring had 14 set assists and Angie Ristow had 16 set assists. Flygare had 12 kills and six digs and Kramer had five kills and six service aces for the Chargers.

For the Falcons, Brittany Ribar went 19-for-19 with one ace and she had 14 set assists.

Paul had five kills and four tips. Blair Lindeman and Nikki Schlueter each had seven digs and Nikki Lindeman had six digs.

McLeod West (2-5) hosts Cedar Mountain Tuesday, while MVL travels to Appleton, Wis. to face Fox Valley Lutheran Saturday.