NORTHROP — The St. Clair Cyclones used 12 ace serves to take a 3-2 Valley Conference volleyball win against the Martin Luther/ Granda-Huntley-East Chain/ Truman Jaguars on Tuesday in Northrop.

The Jaguars served 16 aces in the loss, falling by set scores of 15-25, 25-12, 26-24, 16-25 and 9-15.

In the decisive fifth set, the Cyclones got back-to-back aces from Amber O’Donnell to open the scoring, but the Jaguars came back to tie at three and kept close.

The teams were tied a 9 before Liza Felber served the Cyclones to a six-point run to end the match.

O’Donnell collected three of her 14 assists during the run, helping Ragan Vilt, Sophia Cazier and Madison Daly to a kill each. An O’Donnell ace and a misfired Jaguar shot closed the set and the match for the Cyclones.

Jaguar head coach Paul Steinhaus said though the Jaguars didn’t play their best match, he was happy with how the team persevered.

“We had to operate through obstacles there’s no two ways to say it,” Paul Steinhaus said. “Between colds and the losses within our volleyball family, not that either become an excuse, but we played with good character. The first set we had one kill and we won. They (the Cyclones) cooperated a little, but we served really well and the fact we pulled this match to five sets said a lot about our character, our execution on the other hand needed a little work.”

The Jaguar offense struggled to get kills in the opening set, but Lizzie Oothoudt served the home team from behind 10-8 to a 17-10 lead, with a nine-point run that included four ace serves.

The Jaguars took advantage of Cyclone mistakes to go ahead 24-15 before a Kambria Steinhaus ace closed the opening set,

The offensive woes continued in the second set for the Jaguars, but they were able to stay close until Emily Wilson served St. Clair to a six-point run, building to a 22-11 lead. Then, after a Jaguar spike went into the net, Brooke Sonnek spiked a kill and combined with O’Donnell for a block to seal Set 2 for the Cyclones.

The teams battled in the third set, staying within three points after a St. Clair serve into the net made the score 5-2 Cyclones.

Lydia Steinhaus served two aces and had three of her 17 total assists in the set to help the Jaguars stay in the fight, but with the score tied at 24, the Cyclones’ O’Donnell assisted Daly for a kill and a Jaguar net violation ended the set.

In a must-win set for the Jaguars, they took the lead immediately and never gave it up. A Michaelah Petrowiak and Abby Calkins combined block got the Jaguars a lead before a Lydia Steinhaus-assisted Calkins kill built it to 2-0.

The Jaguars took advantage of two more Lydia Steinhaus assists on Oothoudt kills and a few Cyclone mistakes to build an 8-2 lead, before St. Clair fought back to 9-8. But the Jaguars built the lead again when Kambria Steinhaus served them to a four-point run, including an ace and a Emily Stauter kill.

An Eden Studer ace and a Petrowiak block ended the set for the Jaguars.

Paul Steinhaus said the Jaguars stayed focused and worked hard to take the must-win Set 4.

“We just kept plugging along,” Paul Steinhaus said. “We just kept playing volleyball and worked toward a good outcome. It was just enough.”

Lydia Steinhaus led the Jaguars with17 assists and added four kills, while Oothoudt led the offense with seven kills to complement her seven ace serves. Petrowiak spiked six kills, while Stauter blocked three spikes.

St. Clair’s Caroline Schimek led the game with 19 assists, while Cazier and Vilt each had 12 kills for the Cyclones.

The Jaguars (6-11, 4-3 Valley) play host to Alden-Conger in a Valley Conference matchup in Northrop at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

St. James Area 3, Fairmont 2 — The Saints rallied from a two-game deficit to pull off a 21-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-23, 15-8 comeback victory over the Cardinals during Big South Conference action Tuesday night in St. James.

Bryn Miller pounded 10 kills and made four digs for Fairmont, Cassidy Schultz supplied eight kills, three blocks and five digs, while Natalie Tonne also cranked eight kills.

Sabrina Segar connected on 17 of 17 serves for a pair of aces to complement distributing a dozen set assists and digging up seven rivals’ spikes for Fairmont.

Cambrie Anderson served 16-for-16, recorded eight digs and spiked four kills for the Cardinals, Andrea Westcott doled out 13 set assists and also went 16-for-16 at the service line.

Chloe Murphy connected for three aces behind a 21-for-21 serving performance to go with nine digs for Fairmont, while Sophie Johnson went 14 of 14 serving and made 13 digs.

Jen Moeller chipped in 12 digs and 13-for-14 serving, Kylee Harder chipped in four set assists and four digs, while Madysen Allen scooped up four opposing spikes.

Fairmont (4-15) plays host to Blue Earth Area at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night in a Big South Conference match at Cardinal Gym.

Jazlyn Geerdes notched four kills and went 15-for-15 serving to help power Fairmont to a 25-20, 25-19, 15-5 victory over St. James Area during C-squad action Tuesday night in St. James.

Hadley Artz smacked seven kills for the Cardinals, while Anna Ehlert doled out five set assists.

North Union 3, Eagle Grove 0 — Chloe Loftstrom hammered 11 kills, made nine digs and went 10-for-10 serving with two aces to steer the Warriors to a 25-8, 25-12, 25-15 sweep over the Eagles during Iowa prep action Tuesday night in Armstrong.

May Laverty drilled seven kills, had seven digs and tallied two aces behind 11-for-13 serving, while Lily Henderson distributed 19 set assists.

Ella Hagebock supplied 17 digs and three aces behind 11-for-12 serving for the Warriors, Olivia Von Bank chipped in 10 digs and three aces on 13-for-13 serving, while Abby Deitering added five kills.

North Union (3-20) plays host to Estherville-Lincoln Central on Thursday night in Armstrong.

Alden-Conger 3, Martin County West 0 — The Knights tamed the Mavericks, 25-16, 25-18, 25-13, during Valley Conference action Tuesday night in Alden.

Sami Meyer smacked seven kills to top MCW’s offense, while Olivia Anderson, Emily Dunlop and Gabby Lange drilled four, four and three kills, respectively.

Shaylynn Anderson distributed 14 set assists for the Mavericks, while Bella Bicknase doled out four assists.

Jenna Clow topped the MCW defense with 12 digs, Maiah Schofield tallied eight, while Logan Kosbab and Taylor Elliott finished with six digs each.

Martin County West (5-13) plays host to Luverne on Thursday night in a nonconference match in Trimont.