GOING UP — Blue Earth Area hitter Taylor Klabunde (5) reaches up for a spike during Big South Conference volleyball action Thursday night in Blue Earth. The Bucs’ Hailey Becker (11) and Eloise Blair (3) look on. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Mertens/Faribault County Register)

BLUE EARTH — St. Peter’s balanced offensive attack was too much for Blue Earth Area to overcome.

“We’re continuously improving at the net, especially blocking,” BEA head coach Donna Nawrocki said. “Our defense is getting better every game at blocking shots. We need a little more consistency on our offensive flow.”

The Saints swept the Bucs, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18, during Big South Conference volleyball action Thursday night in Blue Earth.

Abigail Haggenmiller and Mallory Hartfiel split the distribution duty, each dishing out nine assists, while Kylee Horner had eight kills and Lilly Ruffin had seven for the Saints.

The Saints jumped ahead 7-2 in Game 1, before BEA reversed its fortune. An Eloise Blair kill off a Liz Beeler assist started the run for the Bucs, then Beeler assisted Miya Gustafson, the Saints made a couple of errors and a Gustafson ace tied the game at nine.

The Saints took a five-point lead again after multiple BEA mistakes, then built to a 19-12 advantage after an ace from Danielle Johnson.

Beeler assisted Brita Hougen on a kill to bring the Bucs within 20-17, then the teams traded points off unforced errors to get to a 24-20 St. Peter advantage before a BEA serve went into the net, ending Game 1.

The teams traded single points and short runs to start Game 2, building to a tie at 10, before St. Peter went on the longest run of the middle contest.

Haggenmiller assisted Ruffin for a side-out kill before Johnson and Ruffin combined for one of their three combo blocks to put the Saints up 13-10. An in-net violation put the Saints’ advantage at four before BEA went on a 6-2 run to tie the matchup once again.

Beeler used one of her team-high 12 set assists to help Gabby Haaland get one of her three kills to start the run, then Beeler assisted Maci Frommie for one of her three kills to end it at 16-all.

The Saints rebuilt a four-point advantage after a Kylee Horner kill off a Hartfiel assist, but a Beeler-assisted Blair kill and a Mari Vargas ace brought the Bucs within 20-19.

The Saints used back-to-back assists from Harfiel, first to Lauren Niemeyer then to Mackenzie Pettis, to build their advantage back to 23-19 before two mishit BEA spikes ended Game 2, 25-19.

BEA built a 6-4 advantage in Game 3 when Frommie combined first with Blair, then with Haaland for back-to-back blocking aces, then took the lead again at 7-6 after Beeler assisted Blair for a kill.

A Hartfiel ace gave the Saints a 10-7 advantage, then a Pettis used a Hartfiel assist to put St. Peter up 12-10.

The Bucs got within 16-15 after Beeler assisted Frommie for a kill, but the Saints built to a 19-16 lead, then went ahead 23-17.

A Pettis kill and a Ruffin kill off a Mckenna Vanzee assist ended the final game, 25-18.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” Nawrocki said. “I threw some different things at the girls tonight and every time I made an adjustment or something else, they kept each other positive and pushing forward and didn’t get down in any time of funk because they were doing something they weren’t used to. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort tonight.”

Blair led the Bucs with seven kills to complement digging out nine spikes, while Haaland served a perfect nine-for-nine with four points from behind the line.

Frommie totaled four ace blocks to complement her three kills, while Gustafson led the Bucs with 16 digs. Freshman Hailey Becker went 11-for-12 from behind the service line with a team-high six points.

BEA (1-5) goes to New Ulm for a 7:30 p.m. matchup Tuesday. St. Peter (7-1) goes to Waseca for a 7:30 p.m. game Monday.

•

St. Clair 3, Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman 1 — The Cyclones blew past the Jaguars during Valley Conference action Thursday in Northrop.

St. Clair took Game 1, 25-15, then added a 25-21 Game 3 win and a 25-16 Game 4 victory. The Jaguars claimed Game 2, 25-14.

Michaelah Petrowiak led the Jaguars with 16 kills, while Ella Nagorske dished out 25 set assists.

Josie Clow led the Jaguar defense with 17 digs, while Kambria Steinhaus totaled 15 to help the Jaguar defense.

The Jaguars (1-5) make the short trip to Madelia for a 7:15 p.m. matchup Tuesday night.

•

Martin County West 3, Madelia 2 –The Mavericks claimed their second consecutive win by downing the Blackhawks, 25-22, 14-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11, during Valley Conference play Thursday in Trimont.

No individual statistics were reported by either team.

Martin County West (2-4) plays host to Nicollet at 7:15 p.m. Monday night in Trimont.