Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota’s Jaylyn Coequyt goes up for a kill Tuesday night in the second set against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton. The Vikings swept the Panthers in the Camden Conference matchup.  

TRACY — Three different players finished in double-digit kills to help the No. 1 Minneota volleyball team pick up its 13th-straight win over Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Tuesday night in a Camden Conference matchup. The Vikings finished with 49 team kills, and won in sets of 25-12, 25-15 and 25-14.

“We just keep pushing, and pushing everybody in practice and keep playing strong,” Minneota outside hitter Eden Meagher said. “We keep a positive attitude, and everybody shows up every day … Give it all you got, and go out there and play your game.”

Minneota played behind an all-around strong team effort, especially on the offensive end. While the Panthers continued to fight and went on a handful of runs, the Vikings stayed composed to finish off each set comfortably.

“I think we came in with our hearts in the right place. In a game like tonight, if you don’t see playing a team like Minneota as an opportunity to get better, then maybe you’re just not ready for that opportunity,” TMB head coach Heather Kamrud-Rice said. “I feel like our girls really were ready for that opportunity, and they were ready to fight.”

For Minneota, Meagher and Jaylyn Coequyt led the way with 13 kills each. Leah Coequyt followed with 12 kills, while Sarah Gruenes finished with another seven.

“The girls, they did a really good job. Our setters did a really good job of moving the ball around,” Minneota head coach Kaley Buysse said. “It’s nice when we can set the ball, and we can know that we’re probably going to put it in the hands of somebody who can put it away and find a hole in the court.”

The Panthers were led by six kills from Melaina Ankrum, and Allie Adams followed with four. Elsie Knott and Braelynn Kirk each followed with three kills.

Both of the first two sets started competitively with the Panthers and Vikings trading points.

Minneota got off to a 7-5 edge to open Game 1, with Adams working to block the front of the net for TMB along with kills from Ankrum and Gretchen Lanoue.

Ankrum was a consistent force on the offensive end for the Panthers throughout the night, finishing the first set with a trio of kills.

“She’s [Ankrum] been our most consistent offensive player throughout the season. She just is a competitor,” Kamrud-Rice said. “I felt like tonight, too, Allie Adams and Kirk did a really good job of staying positive and bringing energy to the team.”

For Minneota, kills from Sophie Gillund, Gruenes and Meagher got the offense started.

The Vikings exploded on a 6-1 run behind a pair of kills from Meagher to grow a 13-6 early lead, when TMB called a timeout after an unforced hitting error.

Leah Coequyt also began to heat up, and continued her pressure throughout the night, with a trio of first-set kills.

Gruenes also had three kills in the first set, and Meagher led with six at the end.

Natalie Ratajczak and Gruenes paired up for a block, yet a Kirk kill and a Minneota serving error brought the Panthers to a 22-11 deficit.

A pair of Meagher kills along with a TMB serving error gave Minneota the final three points to close out the opening set.

Defensively, Autum Anderson and Abby Rolbiecki shared a team-high eight digs, and Gruenes and Jaylyn Coequyt both had three blocks. Kirk had a team-high seven digs for TMB.

Libby Sussner led Minneota with 28 set assists, while Sophie Gillund had 19. Ankrum led TMB with 10 set assists.

The Panthers brought out some fire in the beginning of the second set with kills from Alli Dolan and Ankrum to open with a 4-2 lead.

“They [TMB] did make some adjustments throughout the game,” Kamrud-Rice said. “They were finding some open court, and they were adjusting their block. They were getting in the right place for the digs, and I feel like those are little victories.”

But, kills from Jaylyn Coequyt and Meagher quickly tied the set up. TMB again took the next couple points, which was again tied up by the Vikings behind a service ace and kill from Gruenes.

TMB called a timeout after another Leah Coequyt kill, facing a 16-9 deficit, and grabbed four consecutive points later in the set behind kills from Ankrum and Knott and a Minneota attacking error.

“I feel like that’s been a common trend, we are kind of slow to start. It just seems like each set, it took us a little bit to settle in,” Buysse said. “When we settled in, we were able to make that run and strike the lead a little bit more. It’s just making sure that in the end, we are finishing.”

The Vikings were able to finish off the set behind a Jaylyn Coequyt kill and block, and an assisted block from Gruenes and Ratajczak.

Getting its rhythm started quicker in the third set, Minneota bolstered to a 10-4 lead, followed with a 6-2 run to climb ahead by 10 points.

The Panthers called a timeout after Leah Coequyt hit a kill and Libby Sussner served an ace, before rallying toward the end of the set with four consecutive points. Kirk hit an ace while Adams had another kill amongst the run.

“We definitely struggled [with] starting off strong [in sets], throughout the season so far,” Meagher said. “But, we get that little pep talk after we [fall] a little bit, and just go from there.”

But, Minneota found its footing back to finish off the night behind a pair of Jaylyn Coequyt kills, a TMB hitting error and kill from Ava Rost.

“Hopefully we walk away tonight and take a look at some film, check our hearts, and really make sure that this is something that is going to make us better,” Kamrud-Rice said.

The Panthers have had an up-and-down year entering the second half of the regular season, but had recently been building up some momentum by winning three of its last six matches over Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, Sibley Easy and most recently a sweep over Dawson-Boyd last Thursday.

“We’re finding some consistency in our lineup. That was one thing at the beginning of the season, where I really wasn’t sure who was going to be playing where,” Kamrud-Rice said. “We had a couple of tournaments where we were missing some key players, so I feel like we finally have come together, and had some time together to play and build on the talent that we’ve got.”

TMB (7-13) will have some time off and look to get back in the win column when it takes on Lakeview (8-7) on Monday with a 7:15 p.m. first serve. The match was originally scheduled for this Thursday, but has been postponed.

Minneota was again tabbed No. 1 in this week’s Class A coaches poll after picking up a pair of sweeps over No. 5 MACCRAY and Ortonville last week.

“We can’t settle in. We have to just continue to take it one game at a time. We have a tough match on Thursday, we’re traveling to Canby, and that’s always been a big rival for us,” Buysse said. “Just making sure we bring the energy, making sure that we execute on all the right things, and really keep up our tempo of the game and not let off.”

The Vikings (18-2) will next play their third of a six-game road trip when they take on No. 7 Canby (12-8) on Thursday at 7 p.m.

“I just try to always remind the girls like we’re never going to overlook anybody. We’re just going one game, and take it one day at a time,” Buysse said of the team’s long road trip. “We have to practice like we’re going to play in a game, and keep up that momentum. [Having] an effort to make sure they’re walking in the gym and giving 100% each day, no matter what.”