Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Reese Casey of Webster City blocks the ball as St. Edmond’s Claire O’Connor tries to tip it over the net on Thursday night. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

After the second set against Webster City on Thursday, something began to click for the St. Edmond volleyball team.

The Gaels (3-12 overall, 0-4 in the North Central Conference) dug deep to win two straight and force a deciding set. The Lynx (10-7, 3-1) found a different gear and sealed the deal with a 15-7 victory in the St. Edmond gym.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this young team and their ability to fight back,” said SEHS head coach Matt Reynoso. “We have to fight through the normal mistakes on top of mental mistakes to try and stay consistent.

“They showed tremdendous resolve to fight back.”

“We had a better mindset in set five than three and four,” said Webster City head coach Jess Howard. “To start the fifth set we began by setting the tone and trusting our offense.”

Webster City won a tight 25-21 first set and cruised 25-11 triumph in Game 2. The Gaels turned the tide and showed their perseverance with 25-19 and 25-20 victories in the next two frames.

In the deciding set, Webster City used its first serve and reeled off six straight points. The Lynx grabbed a 7-3 advantage and never looked back.

“It’s hard for this young group to go against these taller and older teams,” Reynoso said. “There is a little intimidation there and we have to get through that (mentally).

“In that fifth set, we didn’t explode and we have to do that. We need to play bigger with a high intensity.”

In the third set, the Gaels trailed 14-12 but went on a 4-0 rally behind the serving of Sasha Hess to take a 16-14 advantage. St. Edmond built a 22-17 lead behind two kills from Ava Underberg and closed out the match with three straight points and an ace from senior Maddie Reynoso.

Ansley Oswald had a huge third set with three kills and two blocks.

Webster City jumped on the Gaels from the start building a 6-2 lead, but St. Edmond went on an 8-1 run to take a 10-7 advantage.

The Lynx fought back to take a 13-12 edge, but St. Edmond built a 19-14 advantage after reeling off a 7-1 run. Underberg set up the fifth set with a block to cap the rally.

Oswald had four blocks and Lauren Gibb had three.

In the opening set Webster City came out strong building a 19-8 advantage. St. Edmond closed out on a 9-3 run and got within 24-21 with four straight before the Lynx closed the door.

It was all Lynx in the second game as they closed out a 16-11 game with nine straight points.

Reese Casey and Sierra Rattenborg led the Lynx with 13 kills. Gourley added 12. Alley Odland had 41 digs, while Gourley (14), Fallon Casey (13), Adeline Tesdahl (13) and Olivia Gallentine (13) were also leaders.

Gourley had 25 assists and Fallon Casey contributed 23. At the service line, Odland was 22-for-22 with an ace. Olivia Gallentine was 14-for-15 with three aces.

“We’ve talked that there are certain points in the middle of the set when you need to win big points,” Howard said. “We talked a lot about mixing it up and being efficient with soft and hard shots.”

Ansley Oswald finished with 12 kills for St. Edmond, while Gibb had 10. Hadley Oswald recorded five kills and Underberg had six.

The Gaels are back in action on Monday when they host Eagle Grove. Webster City travels to Clear Lake on Tuesday.