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The Bulldogs lost in three straight games at St. Cloud Cathedral on Thursday, with the state-rated Crusaders winning 75 points to the Bulldogs' 44 points.

The Crusaders dominated the first set, winning 25-11, and proceeded to win the second and third sets 25-17 and 25-16.

"The Crusaders were digging everything that we hit at them. It was very difficult to get a sustained attack because they passed very well," said coach Dawn Knoll. "The Bulldogs needed to get more accurate passing to start our attacks. Our practices are going well, but we are to a point in the season when we need to carry over our practice skills into the game situations."

Senior Jessica Virant - preparing to hit a spike - had five ace blocks in two matches last week.

The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 1-7 in the West Central Conference North and 6-10 overall.

This week, the Bulldogs hosted Kimball on Monday and played at Melrose on Tuesday. Next week, the Bulldogs will host Sauk Centre on Tuesday, Oct. 14, in their last regular-season match.

Paynesville--	11	17	16
Cathedral--	25	25	25

Individual Results
Hitting: Rachael Wendlandt 13/14 - 5A; Amanda Glenz 22/24 - 4A;
Serving: Glenz 14/14 - 1A; Kendra Johnson 9/9;
Blocks: Glenz - 3A; Jessica Virant - 2A;
Assists: Johnson 30/36 - 4A; Amy Roberg 33/40 - 9A.

Albany 3, Paynesville 0
The Albany Huskies, who competed in the Class AA state tournament a year ago, beat the Bulldogs in three straight sets on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Albany controlled the first set, 25-12, with the Bulldogs playing better in the second and third games, losing 25-20 and 25-19.

"The Bulldogs played better as the match went on, but the slow start plagued us," said Knoll. "Our team needs to attack off the first ball over. We need to receive the serve and be more aggressive when we put the ball in play."

"Albany is a tough team to play against because they have such a variety of looks in their attack," added Knoll.

Albany--	25	25	25
Paynesville--	12	20	19

Individual Results
Hitting: Amanda Glenz 15/17 - 5A; Rachael Wendlandt 14/16 - 5A;
Serving: Wendlandt 9/9; Brittany Lieser 8/10 - 1A;
Blocks: Glenz - 4A; Jessica Virant - 3A;
Assists: Amy Roberg 35/35 - 7A; Kendra Johnson 26/26 - 9A.