With some prime set-ups, the Riverland hitters had a field day against St. Cloud Tech in a 20-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-10 win in Riverland Gym Wednesday.

The Blue Devils (2-5 overall, 1-1 MCAC South) had four different hitters come up with more than eight kills in the four-game win and setter Krissy Schemmel was a primary reason for that success as she had 36 set assists.

“It’s a big boost to have hitters all over the court,” said Schemmel, a sophomore from Mankato West, who also chipped in 19 digs and one ace serve. “We can start from anywhere and I know that they’re going to hit it. We’ve got strong team with a lot of communication.”

The Blue Devils trailed 19-11 in the first game, but they finished strong to pull within 23-20 after Stephanie Neumann had an ace serve, two kills and a block kill down the stretch.

It set the tone for a night where Neumann, a freshman hitter from Medford, would finish with 17 kills to lead all RCC hitters.

The Blue Devils trailed 10-4 in the second game, but rallied behind the hitting of Neumann and Kate Krogh, who had nine kills on the night. RCC led 24-21, but SCT took a 26-25 lead before Kelsey Brink knocked in a kill to keep Riverland alive. The Blue Devils closed out the game with a side-out and a violation on SCT.

“We had a slow start, but usually we pick it up,” Schemmel said. “We were hitting the ball harder, snapping our wrists and playing like a team more and more.”

RCC trailed the third game 16-14, but took a 21-20 lead on a kill by Tiffany Kasper, who had nine kills and two ace serves on the night. RCC scored the last two points of that game on a kill by Neumann and a dig by Kristin Vessel that sailed past the SCT defensive front for a point.

The Blue Devil closed out game four in convincing fashion, winning 25-10. RCC head coach Helen Jahr said that Schemmel, who made a return from a knee injury on Saturday gives the team a lot of leadership.

“(Krissy) takes charge and she makes clutch plays to keep momentum,” Jahr said. “She’s a sneaky, smart player who mixes up the offense for us.”

Schemmel’s knee has held up so far.

“It’s feeling good,” she said. “I just fight through it and I don’t worry about it.”

Brink had eight kills, five set assists and one ace for RCC, Danyel Hythecker had eight blocks, Mercedes Miklya had 15 digs and Katie Williams, who is a 2007 graduate of Hayfield, had two ace serves.