The Albert Lea volleyball team traveled to Mankato to take on one of the Big Nine’s best teams in Mankato West Tuesday night.

A rocky start led to a rocky night, as the Tigers fell behind early and couldn’t recover, losing in three sets.

“We really struggled with our passing in the first game,” said Tigers coach Cathy Baumann. “We allowed (Mankato West) to make too many runs in the game and we weren’t able to make up the deficit.”

The Tigers played much better in the second game. However, with the score tied at 14, West came out with some strong offense and finished the set on an 11-2 run.

The third set was more of the same for the Tigers.

“We just couldn’t take control and make the runs we needed,
Baumann said.

Camryn Keyeski finished with six kills to lead the Tigers. She also led the Tigers with 12 digs. Mikaela Pannkuk and Paige Landsman each finished with six assists.

Albert Lea will play rival Austin, in Austin, on Thursday.

Start time for the match is scheduled for 7 p.m.