In the first game of the 2026 volleyball season, 5-9 freshman Kenzie Kortuem split her time between JV and varsity.
In the JV game at New Ulm Cathedral, she had four kills. In the varsity game after, just one.
But the freshman rapidly proved herself as a vital component in the Clippers' 30-2 season… so far. Against BOLD in the section semifinals in St. Peter on Monday, her 10 kills, including match point, were instrumental in the 3-1 Clipper victory.
“Since this team was a returning team, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to play a lot and just be a backup player, but after showing Dave (head coach Dave Nixon) what I can do and how I can play, he gave me opportunities to play.”
With the victory, the Clippers will return to the St. Peter High School court to take on fourth-ranked Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s for the section championship and a trip to state tonight at 6:00 p.m.
BOLD hung around for most of game one. After a Kortuem kill put he Clippers in front 11-10, a Warrior kill deadlocked the game at 11. But Kortuem responded with a slow roller for a Clipper point, and Melia Sathoff followed up with a kill for a 13-11 Clipper advantage.
Later, ahead 17-15 after the net swallowed up a BOLD serve, the Clippers scored seven of the next eight points. A Taylor McCabe kill was the only winner in the series. The rest came from BOLD errors. The Warriors managed a kill, and the Clipper sent a hit into the net from there, but the game ended 25-18 when BOLD sent a hit passed the boundary line.
On an ace block, the Warriors went ahead 6-2 in game two. A Sathoff kill got the Clippers back on track, and after a pair of BOLD mishits and a Sathoff ace serve that dove after clearing the net, the game was tied 6-6.
Capitalize on Clipper errors though, including a serve the Clippers watched drop deep in their court, the Warriors pulled ahead 11-7 but lost two points after on hitting errors, and with a Jocelyn Kortuem kill and another BOLD hit out of bounds, the score was deadlocked at 11.
A kill put the Warriors in front from there, but McCabe and Kenzie Kortuem teamed up for back-to-back kills, and Kortuem stretched for an ace block while her sister Jocelyn tipped over an ace to give the Clippers a lead they would never relinquish. A Sathoff kill put the Clippers up 20-15, but the Warriors took advantage of an ace serve and a pair of Clipper errors to pull within a point, 21-20.
A Kenzie Kortuem kill prevented a tie. The Clippers’ ensuing serve got stuck in the net, but after Jocelyn Kortuem pushed over a fake set for a winner, Sathoff slammed a kill, and the game ended 25-21 on a BOLD hit out of bounds.
Sathoff spiked back-to-back kills to start game three, but, leading 9-5, the Clippers suffered hitting woes, and with a couple of kills and an ace serve in their onslaught, the Warriors led 15-11.
They never lost the lead from there.
Kaitlyn Flowers sent over an ace serve to pull the Clippers within a point, 19-17, but the Warriors responded with a pair of kills and an ace block to lead 21-17. Aubrey Blaschko swung for a kill, and the Warriors got tagged for a net contact infraction, but after, they came up with a kill, an ace tip and an ace block for a 25-19 triumph.
Kenzie Kortuem thought BOLD, the number four seed, might have been somewhat underrated—after all, the Clippers have swept the other two top-four section seeds earlier in the season: second-seeded Martin County West once and fourth-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s twice, but also, the Clippers weren’t playing up to their ability.
“I felt like we went in too like ‘we’ve got this,’ and they really stepped it up, and we didn’t expect such good players on a good team. But it was our errors, our stuff that broke down our confidence. “
With momentum in their favor, the Warriors came up with three-straight kills to start game four, but lost control of their hitting after, and with a McCabe kill and Blaschko ace block, the Clippers pulled within a point, 8-7.
Later, Sathoff sent a kill almost straight down from the net for a 10-9 Clipper lead. The lead switched a few times from there. Sathoff swatted a pair of kills to put the Clippers in front 14-12, but with an ace block, a kill and a pair of serves that shanked off the Clipper back row, the Warriors led 17-15.
The Clippers regained the lead though when Blaschko, McCabe and Kenzie Kortuem strung together three-straight kills. Unable to put together a return, they lost the next point, but McCabe hammered a decapitating kill for a 19-18 lead, and it was almost all Clippers down the stretch with the game ending 25-20 on a Kenzie Kortuem match-point kill.
Sathoff totaled 20 kills, 14 digs, one ace block assist and two ace serves. McCabe had 11 kills, 11 digs, one set assist and one ace serve. Along with her 10 kills, Kenzie Kortuem had three digs, one set assist and four ace block assists. Blaschko had seven kills and one dig. Maile Meissner had two kills, one set assist and one dig. Keira Schipper had one kill, one set assist and one dig.
Jocelynn Kortuem set up 43 points and also sent over four winners of her own. She had 12 digs, one solo ace block, four ace block assists and one ace serve. Luci Blaschko elevated 16 digs and set up two points. Flowers had three digs, one set assist and two ace serves. Amelia Chmiel had two digs. Sierra Lotspeich had three digs.
With a 3-0 sweep, SESM upset Martin County West on Monday. The Clippers beat SESM on the road in the regular season 25-11, 25-14 , 25-23 and in the Tomahawk-Valley Conference championship at home 25-16, 28-26, 25-22.
Above: Kenzie Kortuem celebrates a Clipper point.
Luci Blaschko hoists a dig.
Jocelyn Kortuem and Maile Meisner leap for a block.
Aubrey Blaschko swings a hit while a BOLD defender stretches to block it.
Taylor McCabe readies to receive a serve.
Delaney Thompson on the dig.
Jocelyn Kortuem sends over a fake set.
Kenzie Kortuem hits for match point.
The student section did its part in helping the Clippers build a victory.