CROSS-COURT SPIKE — Fairmont’s Olivia Ortega (right) directs a cross-court spike around a block set by Waseca’s Ellie Hoehn during Big South Conference volleyball action Tuesday night in Fairmont. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — It took a while for the Fairmont Cardinals’ volleyball team to get going against the Waseca Bluejays on Tuesday night in Fairmont in a 25-13, 25-16, 26-24 loss.

“When we’re down mentally, we’re really down, but that wasn’t the case tonight,” Waseca head coach Jolene Hauger said. “We’re working on the mental part of our game.”

“It took us a while to get going,” Fairmont head coach Kim Breamer said. “We have to come out and be ready right away.”

The Bluejays used a lethal offensive combination of Aliyah Taylor and Riley Ruedy, who led the way with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Waseca’s Siri Kuhns had 35 set assists to help Taylor and Ruedy post the solid numbers. Taylor added a team-high 11 digs.

Brylee Miller, Anna Ehlert and Oliva Ortega finished with 15,13 and 12 digs, respectively, for the Cardinals.

Offensively, Jazlyn Geerdes had three kills and Grace Pendergast had six set assists.

The Cardinals were the culprint of an eight-point Bluejay run midway through Game 1 that led to a 16-11 deficit they never recovered from.

In Game 2, the Bluejays used the combination of Taylor and Ruedy to keep the Cardinals an arm’s length away the entire time.

Game 3 was the closest of the night as the Cardinals delighted the home fans, jumping out to a 7-0 lead.

Fairmont’s Kynlie Anderson served three aces during the opening run. Fairmont also played good team defense the entire game.

However, Waseca fought back and eventually tied Game 3 at 18-all. The game was also tied three more times, including 24-all.

The Bluejays won the final two points to take Game 3 and sweep the Cardinals.

Fairmont (2-11) travels to Mapleton to compete in a tournament at 9 a.m. Saturday at Maple River.

Competing schools are Austin, Blooming Praire, Cadar Mountain, Maple River, Martin County West, Martin Luther, Redwood Valley, Sibley East, St. Charles and St. Peter.

The Bluejays (6-6) host Blue Earth Area at 7:15 p.m. on Monday.

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Martin County West 3, Nicollet 0 — The Mavericks cruised to a 25-20, 25-19, 25-10 Valley Conference victory over the Nicollet Raiders on Tuesday night in Trimont.

Emily Anderson and Lucy Larson led MCW in hitting with 10 and 9 kills, respectively, while Grace Bicknase had 25 set assists.

Anderson and Larson also were the Mavericks’ top defenders, racking up 19 and 17 digs, respectively. The Mavericks finished with 56 total digs on the match.

Martin County West (6-10) travels to St. Clair for a 7 p.m. conference tilt on Thursday night.

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New Ulm 3, Blue Earth Area 0 — The hometown Bucs pressed the Eagles beyond regulation in Game 1, but the visiting team prevailed in their Big South Conference match, 26-24, 25-18, 25-21, Tuesday night in Blue Earth.

Eloise Blair, who was honored for eclipsing the rare 1,000 career dig plateau during Saturday’s United South Central Invitational in Wells, topped BEA’s defense with 18 more digs to complement 7 of 8 serving for four points and one ace.

Kylee Eckmann and Alicia Machacek each smacked seven kills for the Bucs, with Eckmann generating five points on 8-for-10 serving and Machacek recording three ace blocks.

Haley Kalis doled out eight set assists and went 13-for-13 serving with six points for BEA, while Hailey Becker distributed seven set assists, made six digs and tallied five points on 7 of 10 serving.

Katherine Armon delivered eight digs and four points behind 9 of 10 serving for the Bucs, while Taylor Klabunde chipped in nine digs.

Blue Earth Area (5-9) competes in the St. Clair Invitational at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

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Cleveland 3, Truman/Martin Luther/GHEC 0 — The Clippers coasted to a 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 Valley Conference victory over the Jaguars on Tuesday night in Cleveland.

Johnnie Zaharia produced 12 digs and one ace behind 6-for-6 serving for the Jaguars, while Londyn Bowers generated 11 digs and seven kills.

Brianna Petrowiak drilled seven kills and served 11 of 12 for one ace for the Jaguars, while Hayley Stensland doled out seven set assists and connected on 8 of 8 serves for an ace. Ella Nagorske chipped in six set assists.

The Jaguars travel to Alden-Conger on Thursday night.