ALDEN &045; More than once, Alden-Conger volleyball coach Jon Jahnke caught himself looking into the eyes of his young players.

&uot;I was looking to see if there was any fear,&uot; said Jahnke. &uot;There was none.&uot;

And the Knights played like it, stunning Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 3-2 in their Gopher Conference opener at Alden Thursday night. The Knights won the marathon match 3-15, 15-8, 8-15, 19-17, 15-10.

The surprising Knights improved their overall record to 3-0. They were 1-16 last year, Jahnke’s first as head coach.

&uot;The girls have really pulled together and really played as a team,&uot; said Jahnke. I think they’re starting to believe in themselves, which is a good thing. When you’re 1-16, you get a bunch of doubters. Now we’re off to a good start, and you’ve got to think we can have a pretty good season here.&uot;

The Knights served up 17 aces, converting 99 of 112 attempts at the line.

Tasha Lackey was 26-for-28 serving, with five aces. Tana Reindal was 16-for-17, Angie Wichmann 13-for-13.

Kelly Kruger provided the majority of the sets for outside hitters Nicole Kruger and Taryn Jensen, who according to Jahnke had an outstanding night at the net.

&uot;That’s kind of what won it for us,&uot; said Jahnke. &uot;We felt we could just keep going to the outside every time and, if the set was there, get the point or the side out.&uot;

Kenzie Johnson also played well at the net, according to Jahnke, who said all the Knights played their best when it counted the most.

&uot;When the game was on the line, the girls just hit the ball hard,&uot; said the coach. &uot;It was good to see. We gave away the first game, and you wonder what’s going to happen after that, but the girls didn’t get down or let up. They played with a lot of heart.&uot;

The Knights are off until Monday, when they travel to Glenville-Emmons for a nonconference match.