AUSTIN &045; Coach Gina Eppen said the Albert Lea High School volleyball team was hoping for a quick win over Austin.

It was a win. But it wasn’t quick.

The Tigers needed five games to knock off the Packers at Austin Tuesday, winning 25-18, 16-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-9.

&uot;It’s nice to come home with a win this year,&uot; said Eppen. &uot;Last year we went five games with Austin and lost.&uot;

In fact, it was the Tigers’ first game-five triumph in Eppen’s three seasons as head coach. It improved them to 5-12-3 overall and 2-6 in the Big Nine.

Inconsistency and a scrappy Austin team kept the Tigers from putting away Tuesday’s match earlier, according to Eppen.

&uot;The kids were really geared up, but Austin just kept hanging on and hanging on,&uot; said Eppen. &uot;The biggest problem was no one played all around on the court real well. People played well in spots but not in others. Everybody played, and it really did take all 10 girls to get this win tonight. We didn’t necessarily play our best, but we really needed this win.&uot;

Albert Lea’s individual statistics: Jenna Brackey one ace, 13 assists, 14 digs, five kills, three blocks; Katie Brackey one ace, 14 assists, 13 digs, three kills, three blocks; Danielle Rankin one assist, 18 digs, 11 kills, one block; Emily Bartusek seven aces, one assist, 27 digs, three kills, one block; Amber Edwards one ace, one assist, 15 digs, 10 kills, seven blocks; Heather Stegenga 14 digs, four kills, seven blocks; Laura Jackson five digs, one kill; Ashley Olson two digs; Ali Blenka one dig; Brittany Buckmaster one dig.

The Tigers host Rochester Mayo in a Big Nine match Thursday.

(Contact Jim Lutgens at sports@albertleatribune.com or 379-3437.)