Facing adversity on the volleyball court here Tuesday night, St. Edmond rose to the challenge.

Senior Faith Shirbroun sparked a closing 10-2 run that gave the Gaels a thrilling five-set victory over rival Manson Northwest Webster inside the SEHS gym.

Scores were 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 23-25 and 15-12.

Eden Horn, a freshman for St. Edmond (8-15 overall), tallied the final two points of the match on kills, as she finished with a team-high 26 to go along with nine blocks and two aces.

Ava Underberg, another senior, added 11 kills while Shirbroun had eight with two aces and a block. In the fifth set alone, Horn had four kills and a block, while Shirbroun had two kills.

“We really work on endurance training in practice and I feel like that showed,” SEHS head coach Lindsay Heffernan said. “We started focusing on getting that first-ball kill on the serve-receive and that also was a big piece of our success.

“I’m just really proud of these girls because they continued to fight out there.”

For the Cougars (19-11), Ava Moline registered a match-high 31 kills, highlighted by 13 in the fourth set when Manson Northwest Webster rallied to force the fifth.

Makayla Reekers added eight kills and Alison Nimke had three blocks. Moline had a pair of blocks.

“Moline is a really good player and they were able to continue to hit it to her,” Heffernan said. “That is a really good team in Manson Northwest Webster with some strong players.”

The Cougars are coached by former St. Edmond standout Livi Huss, as another fellow ex-Gael, Josie Huss, serves as her assistant. They entered the match having won two straight, as Huss is in her second season leading the team.

Since Manson Northwest Webster won five in a row in the series, St. Edmond has answered with three straight, including two wins in five sets.

Horn had five kills in the first and five in the fourth while recording eight in the second.

“It has been a lot of fun to watch Eden’s growth as the season has gone on,” Heffernan said. “She has grown so much, especially mentally, and is learning the game more and more each time out.

“I feel like all the girls are putting in the time and are seeing the results they want. We have a great starting rotation and an excellent bench, and I feel comfortable putting any of them out there.”

The Gaels will host North Central Conference leader and fifth-ranked (Class 3A) Humboldt on Thursday for Senior Night. Manson Northwest Webster hosts Pocahontas Area in a 2A regional contest on Oct. 22.