ABOVE: Jaguars' Madisen Lewis knocks the ball past an attempted block during a conference volleyball game in Granada Monday night.

GRANADA – The Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Jaguars swept the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers 25-16, 25-15, 25-19 in a conference volleyball match Monday night.

“Our defense definitely stepped up,” said Jaguars head volleyball coach TJ Williams. “The second set is usually when we start to play a little lax. I told them going in, ‘We can’t let up now, we’re where we want to be,’ so they kept moving on defense, kept talking. Probably the best defensive game we’ve probably played all year.”

Leading the Jaguars was Addison Nowicki with seven kills and a block, while Londyn Bowers had five kills. Keira Benck and Lindsey Diegnau each added 11 assists for GHEC/T/ML. Leaders for the Buccaneers were Autumn Gordon with nine kills and 10 digs and Tailor Douglas, who had three kills. Sarah Dohm and Anna Mwangi added two kills each.

The Jaguars opened the first set strong, with Lindsey Diegnau getting an ace on the first serve of the night. The Buccaneers responded with a point of their own before the Jaguars went on 4-0 run to pull ahead 7-5. The Buccaneers managed to get within a point, but the Jaguars’ defense put up a key block by Madisen Lewis and Kayla Mattson to kick off another 4-point run. An attack error by the Buccaneers handed the ball right back to the Jaguars, who again put 4 more points on the board before handing the ball back. An ace by Anna Mwangi added a point for the Buccaneers, but the Jaguars went on 6-point run to make the score 24-12. The Buccaneers tried to rally with a 4-point run of their own before Nowicki closed the set with the final kill.

The second set was back and forth, with both teams trading points early on until the Jaguars went on a 5-0 run. The Jaguars’ defense held strong, protecting their lead with key blocks from Lewis and Benck. Nowicki knocked home the final point of the set, ending it 25-15.

The Buccaneers found their footing in the third set, jumping out to an 11-7 lead courtesy of a 6-0 run. The Jaguars responded in kind with a 6-0 run of their own, swinging the scoreboard back in their favor 13-12. A timely block by Lewis put the Jaguars back into control, which allowed them to add 5 points to their score before the Buccaneers tied things up at 19-all. The Jaguars gained control and put the set away with a 6-0 run, with Kayla Mattson kill putting an end to the night.

“[The] Jaguars did awesome, all respect to them,” said BEA volleyball head coach Donna Nawrocki. “They were scrappy and I told the girls, ‘Expect a scrappy night. They’ll dig everything up, and we’ve got to be ready to cover ourselves and our own hits.’ So, that’s where they beat us. They were just more scrappy and a little bit better.”

The Jaguars’ (4-3) next game against Martin County West Thursday at Martin Luther High School. The Buccaneers (1-3) play Tuesday at Tri-City United.