In its second straight match, a team from Mankato slipped past Albert Lea 3-2.

Last Thursday, it was Mankato East. On Tuesday, the Tigers fell lost in another heartbreaker at Mankato West.

“Our team played well enough to win tonight, and I’m proud of the girls,” said Albert Lea coach Lisa Deyak.

Allison Grandstrand led the Tigers with six kills, and Julia Deyak had a team-high 29 assists to go with four digs and 12 kills. Camryn Keyeski led Albert Lea’s back row with 26 digs and a 98 percent receive rate. She also had three ace serves.

Game scores were 25-23, 24-26, 25-16, 19-25 and 15-7.

The Tigers rebounded from losses in Games 1 and 3 to win Games 2 and 4 and force Game 5.

Next, Albert Lea (1-5 overall, 0-2 Big Nine Conference) will host Rochester Mayo at 7:15 p.m. Thursday. The Spartans (6-2 overall, 2-0 Big Nine Conference) are coming off a 3-0 win at Mankato East on Tuesday.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: Sept. 9 post.