Photos by Samantha Davis: The Canby volleyball crashes to the court together after winning the final point of a Camden Conference match against Minneota Thursday night in Canby. Below: Canby's (left to right) Karlie Wollum, Brynn Kockelman, Karli Weber, Amya Verhelst and Grace Hansen celebrate the final point in their win over the Vikings.

CANBY — In a pressured battle between the Camden South Conference’s top two programs, the No. 7 Canby volleyball team prevailed for a 3-2 win over No. 1 Minneota Thursday night in a Class A top-10 showdown. The victory marks four straight for the Lancers, while snapping the Vikings’ 13-game winning streak.

“It doesn’t feel real. I mean, I have played Minneota since I was so little but never got a chance to beat them,” Canby senior rightside hitter Emily Nelson said, emotional after the win. “They’re obviously our rivals … They’re always such a good team and such good competition. So, being able to actually do it and pull it off is [a great feeling].”

Canby fought back after dropping the first set and starting the second down by 8 points, sparking the Lancers’ momentum that carried through. The Lancers won in sets of 15-25, 28-26, 25-17, 19-25 and 15-7.

“I think Canby played a hell of a game. Ultimately, they came out and they battled and they executed across the board,” Minneota head coach Kaley Buysse said. “They had great serve receive, they were moving the ball around. They were attacking and putting the ball away … They beat us in all aspects of the game, and they just played better volleyball. We made way too many mistakes, way too many errors. We can’t do that. Our momentum swings were so extreme, and we just couldn’t get back in it.”

In a winner-take all fifth set, Nelson continued her season-long strong performance at the service line with an ace. She finished the night with four.

Yet, the two teams kept feeding off another one to continue the night’s trend, getting off to a 5-5 tie.

Canby started to pull away after a pair of Nelson kills and a block by Grace Hansen, as Buysse called a timeout.

A pair of Lancers’ hitting errors brought Minneota within a 10-7 deficit, yet Nelson continued to show up big in the final set with another two straight kills to keep Canby ahead.

With a 13-7 lead, the Canby players crashed to the court, piling onto one another after securing the upset following a pair of Vikings’ errors and a Hansen kill.

“We played as a team so much, we played with so much passion,” Nelson said. “We were all going out there. We were like, ‘We’re winning this game.’ We had no doubt in ourselves.”

For Canby, Nelson finished with 25 assists, 10 kills and 16 digs along with her aces. Karlie Wollum also had 10 digs and four blocks to her 16 kills, while Brynn Kockelman followed with 13 kills, 16 digs and 21 assists. Jaryn Houseman had a team-high 25 digs. Karli Weber led the Lancers with five blocks.

“It’s been a while since we have, if we’ve ever, beaten Minneota on this home court,” Canby head coach Jenai Wright added. “I’m just happy that the girls came in focused, and didn’t let the little things bother them.”

Minneota was on the hunt to fight back in the fourth set to prevent Canby from ending the night early, who was holding a 2-1 lead. The Vikings and Lancers fed off one another to open the fourth set, starting with a 7-7 tie after trading points.

Minneota claimed three straight points, followed up with back-to-back kills from Leah Coequyt to build a 12-8 edge. The Vikings were able to send the game to a fifth set after Jaylyn and Leah Coequyt kills and a Lancers’ net violation.

The Lancers first got their rhythm going midway through the second set, flustering Minneota, and ventured on an 8-point comeback behind a 7-0 run to tie the score up, and eventually won the extended set as the home crowd grew loud.

“I think they just knew that they had the confidence in each other,” Wright said. “We’re still trying to build that chemistry, and I think you saw that tonight.”

Minneota started the set out strong, climbing to a 20-12 lead, before Canby got its rally started.

Kockelman served an ace while Karli Weber hit a kill to help cut into a 5-point deficit, down 20-15. The Lancers continued to fight behind a Kockelman ace and kill, paired with a Minneota attacking error and kill from Wollum to come within a point, 20-19, when the Vikings called a timeout.

A Vikings’ attacking error tied the game at 20, as the two teams traded kills to bring the set to extra points.

Canby’s Weber hit a kill, while Eden Meagher responded with two herself to tie the score at 24. The two teams traded hitting errors, followed with another Meagher kill to put Minneota up 26-25.

But, a pair of Vikings errors gave Canby a 27-26 advantage before Nelson secured the comeback with another service ace, giving the Lancers a set-two 28-26 victory.

“I’m the type of person to think [about] limiting my service errors,” Nelson said regarding her consistent performance at the line. “Yes, I can put over a good serve, but I need to make sure that I limit my service errors. No matter how good the service is, it’s not good if I don’t put it over.”

The Lancers kept riding their momentum strong in the third set to gain a 2-1 advantage on the night, started on a 9-4 lead behind kills from Wollum while the Vikings continued to struggle with unforced errors.

“We’re [Nelson and Wollum] like best friends. We play with each other, we play club together, we play school together,” Nelson said about her and Wollum’s connection as two of the Lancers’ primary offensive makers. “Our connection is so strong, and we have a similar mindset.”

The Lancers stayed hot, and with four points to take the set, kills from Nelson and Grace Hansen along with two Vikings’ hitting errors sealed the win in the third set.

The night started with two of the section’s offensively-dominant players getting their respective teams on the board, with Nelson serving an ace for the Lancers and Meagher hitting a kill in response for Minneota.

The Vikings eventually embarked on a run to bolster a 20-12 edge, forcing Canby to call a timeout, and a trio of Lancers’ hitting errors gave Minneota the win in the opening set.

“We knew that wasn’t really us. We practice, practice and practice, a lot of different situations, and I don’t think that was us in the first set, and they just made the turnaround,” Wright said. “A lot of these kids play club in the same program at Southwest Minnesota Juniors, so it’s like a battle even of the friends, too … We love the competition.”

Meagher led Minneota with 15 kills to her 11 digs, while Jaylyn Coequyt followed with nine kills. Leah Coequyt and Gruenes both tallied eight kills and two blocks.

Abby Rolbiecki led defensively with 14 digs, while Sophie Gillund and Libby Sussner paced the offense with 23 and 20 set assists, respectively.

“I think we just really need to focus on being able to finish and keeping that momentum on our side,” Buysse said. “Like that second set, we were up 20-12, and then we just got comfortable in the game and we didn’t finish. Just [need to] work on when we are ahead that much, closing it out, finishing the game and not letting them in, because they’re a good team and if we do let them in, they’re going to run with it.”

Minneota and Canby are closing in on the end of the regular season, with the section tournament to take place in the coming weeks to begin the quest for a state tournament berth.

“I think not being satisfied [is how we continue to build],” Nelson said. “Yes, we won, but that doesn’t mean that we can go into practice lazy now … I think this just proves that we’re a team that can make a state appearance. It doesn’t matter how many games we lost earlier, it’s about what happens at the end of the season.”

Minneota (18-3, 7-1) will continue its six-game road trip at Lakeview (8-7) on Tuesday, also with a 7:15 p.m. first serve.

Canby (13-8, 6-2) will remain at home and next host Yellow Medicine East (4-10) on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.