NUC takes down St. Mary'sFischer has 1,000th set assist

By DAVE CLARK

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- It was a grand evening for the New Ulm Cathedral Greyhounds.

Not only did senior Nikki Fischer become only the second volleyball player in New Ulm Cathedral history to reach 1,000 set assists, the Greyhounds beat the Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Knights in a thrilling five set match Tuesday night, 12-25, 25-21, 21-25, 30-28, 15-12.

Fischer is now the reigning set-assist leader for the Greyhounds, passing Laura Schmitz, who played for NUC in the late '90's. According to Greyhounds coach Karan Whitmyer, the emotion of helping Fischer get the record boosted the team Tuesday night.

"They were pretty fired up. They really wanted to get Nikki her thousand," Whitmyer said. "They played with a lot of poise. They dug deep. Tonight's match was a sign of maturity. We're learning how to play the mental part. We held out ground and found a way to claw back. There's a difference between playing to win and playing not to lose."

It was a tough defeat for a Knights team that had swept the Greyhounds in three earlier in the season. "We played our game in the first game and then we lost momentum and had to fight back," said St. Mary's coach Stef Whittet. "We've had a tough schedule over the past two weeks. Monday night we went five games. They're tired. We just couldn't get over the hump to finish the game. They (NUC) were digging up a lot of our stuff. No matter where we hit it, they were there."

Indeed, anyone coming into the Cathedral gym at the end of the first game may have thought it was going to be a short evening as the Greyhounds committed thirteen unforced errors and never held a lead. Add in multiple Knight kills by Krista Armbruster, Raina Walter and Whitney Haala and the result was a 25-12 St. Mary's blowout.

The Greyhounds came out in Game 2 as if Game 1 never happened, taking an early 3-0 lead before the Knights tied it at 3-3. From then until it was 19-19, the biggest lead was 14-11 in favor of St. Mary's when Sadie Sabatino nailed two straight aces.

The Greyhounds were up 21-20 when Toni Hall hit a kill, followed by a ball that dropped among three Knights and a kill by the Greyhounds Chelsey Hillesheim that hit just inside the line for a 24-20 NUC margin that became 25-21 two plays later on a Knights net serve.

The Knights then came back themselves early in game three, taking an 8-4 lead before an ace by Hillesheim and four straight unforced errors by the Knights gave the Greyhounds a 10-8 margin. The game swung back to the Knights as they outscored the Greyhounds 8-1, with four of the St. Mary's points coming from Walter kills.

"I thought Hillesheim gave us a lot off the bench and gave us a shot in the arm tonight," said Whitmyer.

St. Mary's was up 19-17 when it was time for the historic Greyhound moment. Fischer set up Angela Long, who blasted the ball down the left line and it was time to stop the match to honor Fischer with a special volleyball given to her by NUC athletic director John Vetter. The match finally went to the Knights, but in Greyhound terms, the night was still young.

Game 4 saw both teams pour out the pitcher of emotions. The Greyhounds were up 22-18 when they committed two unforced errors and couldn't handle four straight kills by St. Mary's Kate Ludewig. Suddenly NUC was down 24-22 and facing a match loss. But the Knights proceeded to hit the ball in the net and Hall slammed a kill and it was tied 24-24.

The Greyhounds then took one-point leads only to have the Knights tie until it was 28-28. St. Mary's then had a kill attempt go out of bounds and hit a ball that tapped the top of the net before going out, sending the teams to game five.

The Knights took early control of the game, taking a 10-7 lead when it was time for the Greyhounds last comeback. The biggest play came when Hall and Kraus both blocked a kill attempt that seemed to fire up the team. After a Kraus ace knotted the game at 11-11, NUC got two kills from Hall and a final ace by Kristen Dietz to wrap up the victory.

For the Greyhounds, Fischer had 35 set assists, while Hall and Kraus each had eight kills and Hillesheim and Long had seven apiece. Hall also had four ace blocks. Kraus had 14 service points, while Hillesheim had 12.

St. Mary's was led by Armbruster with 18 kills, followed by Walter with 12. Amanda Helget had 44 set assists, while Jonalyn Cook and Walter each had 13 digs, and Brynn Braulick had 11.

The Greyhounds won in "B" squad action, 22-25, 25-19, 15-10, while "C" squad dropped two to St. Mary's, 25-23, 25-15.

The Greyhounds improve to 8-9 overall, 4-5 in the Tomahawk Conference. They host McLeod West Thursday at 7 p.m. The Knights also play Thursday night at 7 against crosstown rival Sleepy Eye High School.