“Everything,” Kruthoff said.

The Gaels were unable to withstand a furious rally by Paton-Churdan here Monday night, falling in five in a Class 1A, Region 2 opener.

Scores were 22-25, 19-25, 25-15, 27-25 and 15-6.

Kruthoff and fellow seniors Sydney Engels and Leah Neverman played their final match for St. Edmond (4-10 overall), which had its regular eason shortened by COVID-19 a few weeks ago.

Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Mya McClain of St. Edmond react after gaels lose to Paton Churdan on Monday in the Gael gym.

“It’s just so tough for these seniors to go out like this because they have put in the time and the work,” SEHS head coach Dee Huss said. “First, they lost out on valuable practice time because of the pandemic and matches and tournaments. That’s tough, because they really wanted it and didn’t want it to end.”

Kruthoff echoed those thoughts, adding, “I’ve loved this sport forever, and I’m really sad it’s over.”

The Gaels raced out to a commanding 2-0 lead thanks in large part to Kruthoff and Neverman, who combined for 16 kills on the evening. Kruthoff finished with 10, Neverman six and Engels added four.

Neverman also contributed four aces as St. Edmond recorded 15 aces in all and were 89 of 93 serving as a squad. Mya McClain also had four on the night.

Paton-Churdan (10-9) was led by Danielle Hoyle, as the 6-foot-2 senior had 23 kills. Tessa Steimel added nine and Karissa Stephenson four.

“I thought in the first two sets we did a nice job of defending Hoyle,” Huss said. “They adjusted and kind of got her going there in the third.

“We got ourselves in a hole there in the third and couldn’t dig out. We told them that nobody is going to just let you win.”

The Rockets reeled off eight consecutive points in the third to take a commanding 19-10 lead. They finished with a 4-1 run that carried right over into the fourth.

However, after going up 6-1, St. Edmond answered the call. The Gaels took a 14-11 lead after scoring eight consecutive points and again led 19-16 following another rally.

Paton-Churdan sealed the set with a 9-3 spurt before scoring the first five points of the fifth.

“We had some really good practices coming in,” Huss said. “We played aggressive and had probably our best match in terms of serving this year.”

Kruthoff was 15-for-16 serving with 12 digs and five blocks, with McClain serving 23 of 25 with 21 digs. Aleah Anderson was a perfect 16-for-16 serving with nine digs, five kills and three aces, with Neverman adding 11 digs.

Kierstin Clark was 10-for-11 serving with six digs.

For Kruthoff the memories will outlast the sting felt by this loss in the long run.

“I’m going to miss everybody,” Kruthoff said. “The people with St. Edmond volleyball are amazing.”

Paton-Churdan advances to face AGWSR (9-16) in Ackley on Wednesday night. The Cougars swept Colo-Nesco in three.