SUPERIOR, Wis. – After a four-set win earlier in the week that saw it improve to 5-3 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, the Yellowjacket volleyball team returned home to enter a pivotal weekend in conference play.
 
Friday night the Yellowjackets played the first of two matches on the weekend homestand, taking on Bethany Lutheran, a team they dispatched in three sets Sept. 24. Things might have come easily in the first meeting, but the sledding was much tougher the second time around.
 
After the teams split two close sets, the Yellowjackets put the pedal to the floor in the third and fourth sets, making quick work of the Vikings to take the match 3-1 by scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-16 and 25-17. With the victory, the Yellowjackets (8-13, 6-3 UMAC) run their winning streak to three matches.
 
Cassy Teff (Foley, Minn./Foley) turned in another strong performance, finishing the night with her fifth triple-double of the season. Teff led the Yellowjackets with 17 kills, 17 assists and 18 digs. Teff remains among the national leaders in triple-doubles in 2021.
 
The Yellowjackets started fast and moved ahead 4-0 in the opening set, but the Vikings came back and made it close. Up by a point at 12-11, Kaylin Plautz (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) landed kill that started a 4-0 run and gave the 'Jackets some breathing room. The lead increased to 20-13 when Maiana Stark's (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) drive found a gap, but again the Vikings closed the gap, going on a 10-3 run to take a 23-22 lead. Kielan LaPlante (Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) tied the set with a kill, and back-to-back kills by Teff and Alexie Pryd (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove Senior) gave the Yellowjackets the points they needed to take the set.
 
Things picked up in the second where they left off in the first, with the teams playing it tight. The Vikings opened up an 8-5 advantage, but the Yellowjackets came back, taking five of six points to move in front 10-9. The 'Jackets would lead four times in the middle of the set, but every time Bethany Lutheran would come back and tie it. With the score tied 20-20, Bethany Lutheran won four straight points and held on to win the second set and tie the match.
 
In the third things were again tight until the Yellowjackets went on a 5-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. The kills kept on coming, as Stark, Teff and Pryd all found holes in the defense to push the advantage to seven points, 21-14. The Yellowjackets would take advantage of errors by Bethany Lutheran to win the final three points and close out the third set.
 
There was little drama in the fourth set, as the Yellowjackets started fast and didn't look back. Plautz and Pryd started the frame with kills as the early lead grew to 7-2. Up 7-4, the 'Jackets went on a 6-0 run to push the lead to double digits. From there they cruised, taking the set by eight points and the match 3-1.
 
Pryd finished the match with 16 kills, while Stark had 11. The Yellowjackets attacked at a clip of .159. Megan Holz (Savage, Minn./Burnsville Senior) recorded 24 assists on the night.
 
Defensively, the Yellowjackets were on point in this one. Five different players hit double figures in digs, led by Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) who notched a season-high 39. Hailey Atwood (Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake) contributed 14, while Pryd had 12 and Stark had 10.
 
Up next for the Yellowjackets is a rematch with Martin Luther College, who defeated the Yellowjackets 3-0 in New Ulm, Minn. back on Sept. 25. The opening serve is set for 1 p.m. at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.