TOUGH TASK
Gaels put up fight against Cowgirls
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Ella Vandi of St. Edmond compete against Clarion-Goldfield/Dows on Thursday
—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Clarion-Goldfield/Dows players celebrate during their match against St. Edmond.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Blaire Askelsen of Clarion-Goldfield blocks St. Edmond Ellasyn Whitmore shot on Thursday inside Gaels gym. St. Edmond's Breckyn Ulrich looks on.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Ella Vandi of St. Edmond compete against Clarion-Goldfield/Dows on Thursday
—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Clarion-Goldfield/Dows players celebrate during their match against St. Edmond.
-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Blaire Askelsen of Clarion-Goldfield blocks St. Edmond Ellasyn Whitmore shot on Thursday inside Gaels gym. St. Edmond's Breckyn Ulrich looks on.
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Down a key player here Thursday night, the St. Edmond volleyball team was unable to overcome a slow start, falling to Clarion-Goldfield/Dows in North Central Conference action in four sets.
Scores were 25-21, 25-23, 19-25 and 26-24.
Senior Chloe Palmer suffered an ankle injury this past weekend that forced her out of the rotation. Still, the Gaels (5-3 overall, 1-1 in league) showed plenty of fight in pushing the Cowgirls (6-1, 2-0) after a sluggish beginning.
"We have to figure out a way to get going much quicker," SEHS head coach Lindsay Heffernan said. "We just can't get out of the gates with much momentum. Volleyball is a sport built on momentum, and credit Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, as they were able to use it better than we did."
Eden Horn recorded a match-high 23 kills, as Rihanna Myers finished with 31 assists and three blocks. Breckyn Ulrich tallied four kills, Ellasyn Whitmore had two with four blocks and Emerie Horn had three kills and six blocks.
"Breckyn did a great job filling in for Chloe," Heffernan said. "The thing I really like about this group of great kids is their willingness to compete. They have had a lot of success in several other sports, and that is showing in volleyball, too. They never back down and never quit."
For the Cowgirls, Ella Engstrom had 13 kills, Blaire Askelsen finished with eight and Ella Fineran added four. Askelsen, one of six seniors, had five blocks, with Harper Nerlien tallying three aces.
Clarion-Goldfield/Dows scored six of the first eight points in the first set, six of the first nine in the second and four of the first five in the fourth. In the third, which St. Edmond won, they had a 9-4 lead before the Cowgirls rallied.
"We've got to move a little bit quicker with our block to get it set up," Heffernan said. "We have the girls to do it, it's just about being a little more active on the court."
In the fourth, the Gaels held a 14-11 lead before Clarion-Goldfield/Dows reeled off seven consecutive points to take control of the match. Down four, St. Edmond answered, tying it at 24-all on a Whitmore block.
The Cowgirls, though, were able to score the final two, including the match-winning point off a block by Askelsen.
St. Edmond returns to action next Thursday for a conference quadrangular in Eagle Grove with No. 1 (Class 3A) Humboldt, Algona and the Eagles. Clarion-Goldfield/Dows will host a league quad with Webster City, Hampton-Dumont/CAL and Iowa Falls-Alden that same night.