MVL needs 4 games, but beats cross-town rival Greyhounds

By DAVE CLARK

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The Minnesota Valley Lutheran Chargers-New Ulm Cathedral Greyhounds volleyball match Thursday night was like a championship fight between a heavyweight and light heavyweight where the heavyweight won on a TKO instead of a knockout and got a little bloodied in the process.

The heavyweight in this case, 13-1 MVL, took four games to put away a fierce 4-11 Greyhounds squad, 15-12, 15-12, 11-15, 15-10, in a night of great volleyball between local rivals at the Cathedral High School gym.

Make no mistake, the record still shows MVL with the win and they'll take it any day, but there was no denying there may have been a slight letdown after their huge sweep against Buffalo Lake-Hector on Tuesday night.

"Give all the credit to Cathedral," said MVL coach Ron Ohm. "They played their hearts out, and we didn't play with as much heart as we need to have. They had a very good game plan."

For the smaller, less powerful Greyhounds squad it was a victory in some ways. "This was a real upper," said NUC coach Karan Whitmyer. "It was a psychological victory. We accomplished some things we've been wanting to do. But good teams make a way to win, and that was the difference tonight.

"By far it was the best we've played all year. Kristin Beranek and Katie Gieseke played exceptionally well. I'm not sure we can play much better."

Indeed, the Greyhounds made a statement immediately, taking a quick 4-0 lead with an ace from Beranek, a kill from Prarie Hady and two mistakes by MVL. A later kill from Gieseke and two aces from Kelly Kuehn moved the Hounds lead to 8-3.

But MVL gathered their power, and with two aces from Emily Buck and an ace from Leah Morgan, the game was soon tied 9-9. NUC responded with an ace from Liesl Genelin and a kill from the back row by Kraus that gave the Hounds a 12-9 margin.

That was the final points for NUC, though, as the Chargers rattled off six straight points from Melissa Meyer behind the line, with two aces, a kill from Ristow, a kill block and a Hounds ball into the net that put MVL up by a game.

The Chargers looked like they were going to use the difficulty in game one as a springboard to blast NUC out of the Greyhounds gym, running off to an 11-2 lead. MVL received aces and kills from Danielle Kramer, Katie Hermanson, Kelsey Black, Jessica Merseth, and Morgan, plus three miscues from the Hounds.

But with Gieseke, Hady and Genelin serving, NUC proceeded to outscore the Chargers 10-2 and were down by just one, 13-12. But once again they bowed to the Chargers front row power of Ristow and Angie Unke, who both blasted kills for the MVL win.

The only lead MVL had in game three was at 1-0, as the Chargers made six service errors and gave the Hounds 10 points on various bad hits or net balls. NUC helped their own cause by making some incredible digs and blocks, with both Genelin and Beranek each blocking kill attempts by the taller Chargers. Jessica Lewis, Hady, Gieseke, Genelin, and Beranek all contributed offensive kills that made it necessary for game four.

There were five ties in the final game, with the Hounds taking an early 8-3 lead. At that point, Ohm called a time out, and with kills from Morgan and Unke, plus an ace by Hermanson and two NUC errors, the game was tied at 8-8. Ties occurred again at 9-9 and 10-10, but the Chargers again relied on their power game as Merseth, Unke, Ristow, and Morgan all delivered hard kills to win the match.

For the Chargers, Buck had 23 set assists, with Hermanson contributing 17. Unke also had 15 ace kills, and Black had 10 while Morgan and Kramer had eight. Merseth had three ace blocks.

For the Greyhounds, Genelin was 19-0f-20 from the service line, with 11 points, and Hady was 18-of-20 for 12 points. Beranak had 30 set assists, while Kuehn had 10. Beranek also had 14 ace hits, seven ace tips and six ace blocks. Genelin had 11 ace hits, with Hady ending with eight. Gieseke had six ace blocks, while Amber Franta contributed four.

MVL will travel to Fairmont Monday. Cathedral will host Buffalo Lake-Hector Monday.