Taylor Ripley works to set the ball in BEA’s match against Maple River. Ripley paced the team with 29 set assists.

The Blue Earth Area volleyball team defeated Maple River in four sets, 28-26, 25-19, 12-25, 25-17 when the two teams met on the Bucs’ home court on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to take control.

Maple River was one point away from winning the first set with a 24-23 lead and the serve. However, BEA gained a side out to tie the score at 24-24.

The Bucs’ Marissa Wright hit a serve that the Eagles were unable to return which gave the Maroon and Gold a 25-24 advantage. But then Maple River gained a side out to knot the set at 25-25.

A kill by the Eagles that sailed out of bounds was followed by a serve by the Bucs that landed out of bounds and left the score tied at 26-26.

BEA took a 27-26 lead when Maple River failed to return Taylor Ripley’s hit to an open area. The Bucs then won the first set when the Eagles failed to handle the serve of Isabel Vargas.

Like the first set, the second set saw neither team able to take control until the Bucs ran off five consecutive points to turn a two-point deficit into a three-point advantage.

Maple River was serving with a 17-15 lead when BEA’s Hailey Hanson’s kill gave the Bucs a point and trimmed the Eagles’ lead to one point. Hanson then stepped to the service line. Two aces and an ace block by Sophie Hall helped put BEA out front 20-17.

Ripley came to the service line with the Bucs on top 23-19 and served the last two points for the 25-19 triumph.

BEA scored the first two points in the third set but it was all Maple River after that.

With Alli Boening at the service line, the Eagles ran off nine straight points to take a 9-2 lead over the Bucs. Maple River kept their momentum going on their way to a 25-12 victory to set the stage for the fourth set.

Like the first two sets, the fourth set saw neither team take control early on.

Maple River was serving with a 14-12 lead when they served the ball out of bounds to cut their advantage to one point and give BEA the serve.

Samantha Meyers went to the service line and by the time she was done the Bucs had a 23-14 lead.

BEA’s final two points came on kills by Averi Blair and Hall.

“The girls took another step forward tonight and came together as a team,” BEA coach Donna Nawrocki said. “They stayed composed in set one with the back-and-forth play to get the win. They also bounced back to win the fourth set after falling in the third set. I am proud of how they stuck together and continued to get stronger.”

Ripley accumulated 29 set assists during the match. She also had 11 digs, eight kills and 11 service points including one ace.

Blair led the Bucs with 13 kills. She also had one ace block. Hanson had 11 kills, two set assists, 11 digs and was 14-for-17 at the service line with three aces and nine service points. Hall finished with three kills and an ace block.

Leading the team on defense was Isabel Vargas with 19 digs. She also had four set assists and five service points on 9-for-11 serving.

Samantha Meyers was the leading server with 12 points and one ace on 19-for-21 serving. She also had eight digs and two set assists.

Marissa Wright finished with 12 digs and four points on 11-for-11 serving.

BEA returns to action with a home match against Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman on Monday, Sept. 8. Look for a story on that contest in next week’s Faribault County Register.

New Ulm 3, BEA 2

Blue Earth Area came close but was unable to come home with a win when they traveled to New Ulm on Friday, Aug. 29.

New Ulm won the match 3-2. The Bucs took the first set 25-15 but the Eagles evened the match at a set apiece with a 25-17 victory in the second set.

BEA won the third set 25-22 only to see New Ulm triumph in the fourth set 25-21.

In the fifth and deciding set, the Eagles pulled out a 15-12 win to claim the match victory.

The Bucs’ defense was led by Isabel Vargas with 25 digs followed by Samantha Meyers with 18, Taylor Ripley with 15, Hailey Hanson with 14, Marissa Wright with 11 and Sophie Hall with six.

Ripley helped set up the offense with 25 set assists while Hanson had five and Wright contributed three.

The Bucs’ play at the net was led by Averi Blair with 13 kills and three ace blocks. Ripley had eight kills and one ace block, Meyers had seven kills, Hanson tallied six kill and three ace blocks and Aubrey Koch finished with four kills.

Hanson was 25-for-25 at the service line with one ace and 16 points. Ripley finished with 10 points, including four aces, on 16-for-19 serving. Meyers was 16-for-18 serving with one ace and seven points, Wright was 15-for-16 with two aces and six points, Vargas was 7-for-10 with one ace and four points and Hall was 6-for-7 with three aces and three points.