The Albert Lea volleyball team just keeps gaining confidence.

For a Tiger team which struggled to get a victory last year Saturday&8217;s performance at the Hayfield Tournament shows how far it has come in a short while. Albert Lea went 3-1 on the day finishing in third place posting wins over Southland, Lyle/Pacelli and Lewiston-Altura. The lone loss came to Hayfield.

&8220;Winning helps the confidence and the girls have definitely gotten a boost, but win or lose I just want us to continue to work hard,&8221; Albert Lea head coach Melissa Wasmoen. &8220;I give credit to the seniors who just work hard no matter what I ask them to do.&8221;

Three of the Tigers&8217; four wins came in three games but Albert Lea began the day with a dominant 25-13, 25-22 victory over Southland. Chandra Hundley had three ace serves, Ali Demmer had two blocks, Annika Smed added five kills and Kat Ladwig dished out 12 assists.

Against Lyle/Pacelli, the Tigers dropped the first game 22-25 before taking the final two 25-18, 15-9.

The Tigers would fall to Hayfield 19-25, 25-22,13-15 but Albert Lea rebounded from a slow start in the third game. The Tigers found themselves down 9-1 in the third before rallying to tie it up at 13 before falling.

&8220;That game could have gone either way,&8221; Wasmoen said. &8220;We had a chance to take the lead with a good pass, a nice set but the ball went out by a couple inches, but I will never find fault in trying to get a kill.

&8220;We have gotten into the habit of falling behind in the first game which we want to correct, but we battle and we know we can come back and win like we showed a couple times.&8221;

Smed had a solid all-around game with 10 kills and seven digs, Demmer had seven kills and Ladwig added 18 assists.

Albert Lea finished the day with a 26-28, 25-23, 15-13 victory over Lewiston-Altura. Smed led the team with 16 kills, Demmer had three blocks and Hundley added four kills and 12 digs.

&8220;The girls were a little tired that last game but they continued to work hard and play together,&8221; Wasmoen said.

The Tigers, who now stand at 5-3 on the season, host Rochester John Marshall Thursday.