Cardinals earn sweep of Wildcats
MINSTER — The Cardinals are putting the hammer down early.
New Bremen opened Midwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday by making the short trip to neighboring Minster and coming home with a 3-0 win. They took it by scores of 27-25, 25-22 and 25-14
The Cardinals are now 4-0, and have lost just one set in those four matches.
Minster falls to 0-1 in the MAC and 2-3 overall.
New Bremen coach Diana Kramer said the team focused on the moment, especially in the closely contested first set. “Volleyball is a game of mistakes, but we just continued to do what we do.”
She added that “as the night went on, I felt like we got better and better.”
As for the rivalry aspect, Kramer said that “every game in the MAC is big. I’m proud of how our team competed.”
Minster coach Cami Garman was happy with her team’s effort. “We’re a little young, and that showed in some of the tight moments,” Garman said.
“This is the best we’ve played all season,” she added. “We proved that we can hang (with a team like New Bremen). That confidence will bode well for us.”
She said she hopes the confidence will carry over in the team’s upcoming matches.
Lily Barhorst had 10 kills for Minster, with seven by Megan Fortman and five by Alyssa Niemeyer.
Kayla Lamm led in blocks with four, and Niemeyer (11) and Barhorst (eight) had the most digs.
The Lady Wildcats had seven aces with three by Jayden Clune and two by Ava Grieshop.
New Bremen built a 10-8 lead in the opening set, but Minster rallied to take a twopoint edge, 12-10.
Following a timeout, Minster gave up a point, then scored two. They repeated that pattern, giving them a 16-12 lead.
WIth Melina Schrader serving, the Cardinals scored six straight points with Minster making errors on not able to return the serve.
However, the Wildcats then got four of the next five points to back in front 20-19, with one of those an ace by Savannah Bergman.