Staff photo by Ari Selvey Springfield’s Emma Hagen dives and just misses a dig during the opening round of a Section 2A Volleyball Tournament match against Mankato Loyola Thursday at Springfield High School.

SPRINGFIELD — No. 15 Springfield’s season was ended by No. 18 Mankato Loyola in a 25-20, 25-10, 32-30 sweep Thursday in the opening round of the Section 2A volleyball tournament.

“We had a really hard time passing the ball high,” Springfield head coach Tiffany Hillesheim said. “It was either way far off the net or super tight. When you can’t pass consistently, it makes it really hard.”

Springfield did find more success in the third set, putting the game into a continued rally.

“I think we just found the fire,” Hillesheim said. “We still struggled passing a bit, but it was better than the first two sets.”

Teagan Steffl led the Tigers with 14 kills, four digs, a block and an ace, while Kendall Krueger had four kills and 13 digs. Jasmine Novotny had three kills, six digs and an ace, while Taylor Roiger had 17 set assists and two aces.

Loyola took an early lead in Set 1, going up 9-3 after a 7-0 run. Springfield responded with a 6-0 run of its own, cutting the lead to 10-9 on a kill by Steffl. Loyola extended the lead once more with a 10-2 run to go up 20-11. Springfield fought back, with kills by Krueger and Emma Hauger helping to trim the lead to 24-20, but a kill by Olivia Templin sealed the set for the Crusaders.

Loyola got out to another early lead in Set 2, securing a 14-6 advantage despite a pair of kills by Steffl before a Springfield timeout. The Crusaders continued to roll and finished out the set 25-10.

Springfield was able to keep things more even in Set 3, taking a 6-3 lead on an ace by Steffl. The Tigers maintained a 2 or 3 point lead for several serves before a 5-0 run by Loyola gave them a 16-13 advantage. Springfield continued to battle, evening up the game at 24 after a kill by Steffl and an ace by Roiger. The teams traded points for several volleys, with a kill by Lily Pingeon followed by a kill by Steffl to help take a 30-29 lead. However, Loyola was able to rattle off 3 straight points, with a kill by Templin clinching the sweep.

Springfield will say goodbye to its two seniors — Novotny and Hauger — as it closes its season with a 5-20 mark.

“They were really great leaders,” Hillesheim said. “Emma was awesome. She switched positions this year and did a really nice job for us. She played very consistent all year round. Jasmine’s passion for the game is amazing. She always tries to pick her classmates up and tries to get better every day. We’re really going to miss them next year. On the other side of that though, we’re only losing two kiddos, so we’ll be coming back with varsity experience. That will be a good thing moving forward.”