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Minster's Alyse Lamm (4) and St. Marys' Audrey Reineke (18) jump for the ball during Tuesday's non-conference match.
ST. MARYS - With two teams looking to turn a corner at the halfway point of the volleyball season, there was more at stake than just Auglaize County pride between Minster and St. Marys. After Minster looked in control early, the Riders battled back in the second set, but it was not enough as the Wildcats took home a 25-19, 13-25, 25-23, 25-18 non-conference win.
"We've got girls that have not played a full-year of varsity and about five girls that have played, and I think it speaks volumes that once we get to tournament time we will be that well-oiled machine and just working out some kinks right now," said Minster coach Chelsea McGhee.
Minster (5-6) took control of the first set early as kills from Elise Albers helped the team take an early 5-1 lead. While St. Marys battled back to make it a 9-7 deficit, the Wildcats fought through it to eventually take a 20-13 lead. The first set jitters affected both teams with serves seemingly finding everything but playable court, but Minster seemed the calmer of the two teams early.
After a Wildcat serve hit the net the next point, a termination block from Charley Wolf sparked a solo run from the sophomore. The next two points came from her kills, and despite a late rally from the Riders it was Minster who closed out the set on a kill from Sophia Dirksen.
Minster's Sophia Dirksen (1) attempts a block as St. Marys' Addison Fry (8) sets the ball to a teammate.
The second set was a complete turnaround for St. Marys (3-8). The teams traded the first 10 points to give Audrey Reineke the serve. An ace and blocks from Kalle Halko's at the net powered the team to a 10-6 lead, and a quick side-out gave the ball back to them at 11-7.
With Elle Schlarman serving, more points came St. Marys' way. Halko had two kills and another ace made it a 14-7 lead. The lead stayed the same to 17-10, where a pair of kills from Averie Ibarra gave St. Marys an even 20 points. A pair of net violations from the Wildcats gave the Riders the set, and the teams went to the third tied at 1-1.
"It took everyone today," said McGhee. "We missed 14 serves against St. John's (in the last match) and it felt like that's how many we missed tonight. I love serving aggressive but not all the way out of bounds, especially when we need it."
St. Marys' Taylor Meyer looks to hit the ball against Minster.
Both teams played aggressive in search of a match lead, and the early play led to a 9-all tie with Dirksen serving. The junior could not have had three better serves in a row, and a trio of points came Minster's way on aces. A kill from Charley Wolf gave the Cats a 13-9 lead and a timeout came from the St. Marys' bench.
The break worked wonderfully for the hosts, who quickly got the serve back at 13-10. With some momentum, seven points came the Riders' way as they took a 17-13 lead. Marsee had two aces and good defense forced Minster into a pair of miscues in the run.
But the Wildcats had a response. With St. Marys ahead 21-18, an errant shot from St. Marys gave the visitors real momentum. Dirksen had a kill, and more mis-hits from the Riders eventually saw Minster take a 23-22 lead. A long serve from Schlarman set up set point, and Dirksen's ace sealed the deal in the third set.
Early in the fourth it looked like St. Marys was ready to go the distance. Two kills from Ibarra pushed out a 4-0 lead, but a hat trick of kills from Elise Albers trimmed the deficit to 4-3. The back and forth continued to an 11-all tie, where a hit from Ibarra sailed long to give Minster the lead.
Brynn Bornhorst nailed a serve that made it an 18-15 lead, and the rally continued after Dirksen and Wolf gave the team two more points. While St. Marys dug in and battled to make it a 23-18 deficit an ace from Jordyn Stueve and a kill from Albers was all Minster needed to win the match.
Albers finished with a team-high 10 kills, while Audrey Meyer added 15 digs. The Wildcats will look for their third win in a row on Thursday against Coldwater back at home.
St. Marys was led by Reineke's nine kills and Addison Fry's 21 assists. The Riders will look to stop their four-game skid against Wapakoneta on Thursday in a road trip.
