CANDO — This season hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as North Star had hoped.

Sure, the Bearcats still have a strong 15-6 record after sweeping St. John on Tuesday. And sure, they have an even record in conference matches.

But this is a team that was ranked No. 6 to start the season. In the latest poll, it didn’t even receive any votes. The Bearcats lost two of their first three conference matchups, including a 2-0 blown lead to unranked Nelson County. Not to mention they got swept by non-conference opponents Grafton and Park River/Fordville-Lankin. Outside of tournament play, they’d lost five of their previous six matches before Tuesday night.

“We just talked about our mental toughness, and what we needed to do on the court in order to improve that,” North Star head coach Kirstin Ahlberg said, regarding what the team worked on after the tough loss to Nelson County. “And then we had three days of really good practice where we really focused on cleaning up our errors and pushing ourselves into growing into a better team, but really focusing on getting mentally tough.”

With a 3-0 defeat of St. John (1-17, 0-5) in front of the home fans, they relieved the tension of their shortcoming against Nelson County and got back on the right track. They didn’t allow more than 13 points in any set. The win boosted North Star’s conference record to 2-2 ahead of a crucial matchup with Benson County on Thursday.

And the Bearcats did it without 6-foot-4 Ukraine native Anna Bessonova, who had to cheer from the sideline due to a stress fracture in her foot. She played with the injury in the loss to Nelson County and got it checked out afterwards. The team is taking it week by week with her, and hoping that she’ll be back on the court by tournament time.

“She’s been a great help on the bench, and she’s had great spirits,” Ahlberg said. “We’re just hoping she heals fast.”

Karlee Gefroh led North Star with eight kills, while Mattea Wanzek, Rogue Stephens and Anna Griedl each had six. Gefroh also had 14 digs and six aces.

Set 1: North Star 25, St. John 13 (1-0 Bearcats)

Chalk it up to the previous loss still stinging, or the rust of a week off, but the Bearcats came out looking a little flat.

St. John scored first on an ace that bounced off the net. Just tough luck, right? North Star won the next three points to shoot ahead. Wanzek and Stephens came up with kills.

But St. John tied it at 5-5. North Star had a miscommunication where nobody went for it, and the ball simply fell in no-man’s land. The Bearcats, though clearly the better and stronger team, were making too many mistakes early on.

They settled into a groove, though, especially after a 4-0 run that extended their lead to 15-9. After a service error and an ace got it back to 17-12, North Star took off again, winning seven consecutive points.

“We didn’t freak out or anything. We just knew we needed to clean up a bit of our errors, and just were aggressive,” Ahlberg said. “And they started to apply the things that we did at practice to the game. And they did a great job.”

Wanzek finished off the set with a kill.

Set 2: North Star 25, St. John 10 (2-0 Bearcats)

The second set was a more dominant effort through and through — though still one that started out in a hole.

The Woodchucks actually led 2-0, with North Star losing a battle at the net. It tied it on a Gefroh kill and an ace, then went down 3-2 on an error in the net.

Naturally, the Bearcats won the next eight points.

North Star looked comfortable and composed, just like the second half of the first set. The Bearcats controlled the ball well, with Griedl sliding into Bessonova’s typical position of middle blocker.

St. John had a kill right out of a timeout to get back on the board, but North Star shot back by taking the next three and making it 13-4. Avery Elsperger smacked an ace, and Stephens had one of her signature taps into the perfect spot.

A 7-0 run separated North Star even more. Gefroh had multiple sharp kills down the stretch of the second set.

St. John scratched out a few points to at least get to double digits, but the Bearcats put away the set handily.

Set 3: North Star 25, St. John 11 (3-0 Bearcats)

Strangely, St. John scored first again. It had a 2-0 lead after an ace.

Yet, not so strangely, North Star played better and more consistently for the rest of the set. The Bearcats won four straight, with three consecutive kills by Griedl. Everybody was cheering for her. She got her chance because of Bessonova’s absence, and she took full advantage of it.

“She did great. Our teammates helped her out of where to go, and she did exactly what we need her to do,” Ahlberg said. “She looked comfortable out there, which was great for her. I was happy for her that she came in and did a good job.”

After a St. John point made it 4-3, the Bearcats went on their biggest run yet of 10-0. Griedl and Gefroh continued to play well, and North Star found ways to outlast the Woodchucks in longer rallies.

St. John did win five in a row to cut the lead to 15-9, but the Bearcats responded with five of their own. An ace by Elsperger secured North Star’s 20th point, and a Griedl kill — fittingly — won the match.

So it was a mostly luxurious win for North Star, and really just what it needed. A loss like the one the Bearcats had to Nelson County would dampen the spirits of any team, but they kept on fighting Tuesday and got back in the win column.

It’s an especially important boost, too, with a tougher opponent looming on Thursday. The Bearcats go from 1-17 St. John to 15-4 Benson County.

“We need to come mentally tough that game,” Ahlberg said. “So I want us to serve well, and if we do the things in practice, what we’ve been practicing — they’re a very good team. They’re very athletic. We’re gonna have to be on our top game to compete with those guys and hopefully give them a really good run.”