The St. Edmond volleyball team picked up some momentum over the weekend ahead of their postseason opener Monday night.

With a 4-1 performance at a tournament in Algona, the Gaels reached 17 wins, the most for the program since going 17-14 in 2017. They can eclipse that number when they host Glidden-Ralston in the first round of Class 1A regional play at 7 p.m.

Coming off a loss to North Central Conference champion Humboldt on the road last Thursday, St. Edmond (17-11 overall) downed Spencer, Lake Mills, Emmetsburg and the host Bulldogs around a loss to Forest City. The Gaels swept Algona this year, earning a five-set road win earlier this month.

“It was good to get some wins heading into the postseason,” SEHS head coach Heather Seeden said. “We were missing Faith (Shirbroun) due to illness so I tried to switch our lineup to one with the fewest disruptions possible.

“Chloe Palmer came outside and Abby Huss played rightside. Both of them handled the task great. I can’t emphasis enough how difficult it is to come in off the bench in a moments notice after you have been sitting and both Sophia Schlienz and Madi Davis did just that when we needed them.”

It was a big day for seniors Lauren Gibb, Mariah Myers, Claire O’Connor and Sasha Hess. Gibbs had 16 blocks, Myers 41 kills, O’Connor 65 assists and Hess six aces.

Ava Underberg added 21 kills and five blocks, Ava Andrew had eight aces and Palmer registered six kills.

St. Edmond also hit the 17-win mark in 2007 and have won at least 10 games nine times since that season. They won a total of 14 games combined the previous two years and 18 over the last three.

Glidden-Ralston went 10-15 this past season and finished sixth in the Rolling Valley Conference. They earned a win over Des Moines Hoover and went 2-3 down the stretch.

The winner between the Gaels and Wildcats will meet either Coon Rapids-Bayard (22-5) or Audubon (8-21) in Coon Rapids on Wednesday.