Chargers edge Greyhounds

By Doug Monson

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- In a gym filled with screaming spectators engulfed in cross-town rival pride, three great games of volleyball were played, but not one was won by New Ulm Cathedral.

Minnesota Valley Lutheran traveled to Cathedral to take on the Greyhounds and scraped out three wins to take the match 16-14, 15-12 and 15-13. Led by senior middle-hitters Jessi Merseth and Angie Unke, MVL was able to capitalize on its height.

MVL coach Julie Detjen said she was happy with the team's performance and was glad to come away with a win.

"Going into game one we knew they were going to be all over the floor," Detjen said. "We knew we had a height advantage."

MVL also had a big disadvantage, considering junior outside-hitter Kelsey Black was missing in action due to a back injury. Detjen said her girls know they have to step up with the loss of Black, who also sat out Tuesday's game against Sleepy Eye St. Mary's. Detjen said she is unsure of Black's status and listed her as out indefinitely.

Merseth and Unke picked up the slack in Black's absences, however, as Merseth finished the night with 10 attack kills and three block kills, and Unke finished with seven attack kills and four block kills.

Detjen said she was worried about how her team would respond playing at Cathedral.

"I knew it was going to be tough coming in," Detjen said. "I've been told Cathedral is very loud crowdwise."

And the crowd responded, cheering on the Greyhounds who stormed out to an 8-3 lead before MVL was able to chip away. MVL fought off the hustle of the Greyhounds, and took an early 1-0 lead in the match.

In game two, MVL bounced out to a 4-1 lead before the Greyhound responded, bringing the score to 4-5, and eventually 7-7 before taking the lead on a kill by senior middle-hitter Katie Gieseke. Gieseke's play in the middle helped neutralize the big hitters for MVL.

Greyhounds coach Karan Whitmyer said she was pleased with her team's aggressiveness and play in the middle despite the Greyhound's lack of height.

"We played hard," Whitmyer said. "I thought we played them heads up at the net."

The Greyhounds used their aggressiveness to keep them in game two, but MVL proved to be too much as seniors Joeleen Torvick and Emily Buck shined down the stretch. Torvick provided accurate serving for MVL, finishing the night with 13 service points, while Buck came up with several key hits, including a kill during a Torvick scoring run that resulted in a MVL lead at 12-8. Buck finished the night with seven service points and 30 set assists.

"This was a big game for us because there are a lot of teams bunched in the middle (in the Tomahawk Conference), so it was a big win," Merseth said. "It's always nice beating our cross-town rival."

Whitmyer, whose team fell to 3-4 in the conference after the loss, said the game was frustrating because her players did everything they planned to do, but couldn't come away with a victory. She said she was pleased with her teams play.

Liesl Genelin lead the Greyhounds in serving for the night. She finished 15-for-16 with 9 service points, while Kyley Hillesheim went 10-for--10 serving with five points and two aces.

The win pushed MVL to 10-3 on the year and and 5-2 in the Tomahawk Conference. Rachel Olson finished the night with 10 service points and 7 kills, while Danielle Kramer chipped in with 10 kills.

MVL hosts Sleepy Eye St. Mary's at 7:30 p.m. Monday, and the Greyhounds play next at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop.