Southwest Christian reaches semifinals in Class 2A volleyball state tournament

Top-seeded Southwest Christian rallied Thursday to beat unseeded Wadena-Deer Creek in four sets, 24-26, 25-13, 25-18, 25-17, in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A volleyball state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.

The Wolverines took a 6-1 lead in winning the first set. From there the Stars were in control.

"Our mentality was: We're fighting for the next ball. We took every ball one play at a time," Stars senior Luca Bredenberg said. "Even though we dropped that first set, we still had that mind-set that we were going to continue to fight for this game until the very end."

The Stars (27-5) made a 7-1 run to close out the second set.

Maddie Schmidt led the Stars with 14 kills, and Elizabeth Coleman had 12. Kylie Beckering had a team-high 11 digs, and Bredenberg and Taylor Miedema had 10 each. The Stars had 14 service aces as a team, led by Beckering's four.

Wadena-Deer Creek freshman Payton Gravelle picked up four of her game-high 19 kills to help the Wolverines (22-10) put the Stars on their heels early.

"It was a really, really good start for our team, especially for me," she said. "I felt like I was going to the next set ready for everything that came my way. I think I stayed pretty consistent throughout the game, but we collectively fell apart."

Lola Pulver had 17 kills and Kayla Kircher and Addyson Gravelle had 12 digs each for the Wolverines.

Rush City took control in bursts and took care of fifth-seeded Annandale in straight sets, 25-23, 25-19, 25-18, in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

The Tigers (29-2) closed the second set on a 10-2 run and finished the Cardinals (22-9) with a 13-3 run in the third set.

"That's the kind of team [we] are. When [we] get a little fuel, it goes," Tigers coach Eric Telander said. "It lights a little fire under them. It helps them to push harder."

Caledonia held off unseeded Concordia Academy 25-12, 29-27, 25-14 in another quarterfinal.

The Warriors (28-5) got off to a fast start. They scored seven straight points to take a 12-4 lead in the first set.

"It's very important [to win the first set] because the momentum is in your way," Warriors senior Emma Rommes said. "Going into the next set, you want to reset like it is Set 1. But [knowing] you won that first one, you know you can do it again."

The Beacons (20-11) looked overmatched in the opening set but made the Warriors earn every point after that.

The perfect example of the Beacons' resilience came in the second set. Grace Tverberg had to lunge through her team's seating to save a point. She knocked the ball back into play and eventually got her team the point.

"We try to work hard every day on scrappiness and run down balls and chase and not let the ball touch the ground," Beacons coach Kim Duis said. "That's who we are, not letting the ball drop and give up. We had that. Grace flew into the bench. I don't know how we won that point because I was worried about her getting back onto the court."

The Warriors put the Beacons away in the third set with an 8-1 run.

Pequot Lakes rallied after losing the first two sets and defeated unseeded Redwood Valley 24-26, 19-25, 25-13, 25-12, 15-6.

The second-seeded Lakers (28-5) found their game right away in the third set and never trailed again. Ella Kratochvil recorded seven of her game-high 31 kills in the fifth set. She also had 26 digs.

"Just believing," Kratochvil said about the turnaround. "We started playing together. Once we start playing together, the sets are always there, the passes are always there. If we are not afraid to swing, we find those shots. It all just works well together."

Kendall Huhnerkoch led the Cardinals (30-3) with 17 kills and 13 digs. Coach Taya Lindahl said she wasn't surprised the Lakers pushed back.

"We knew [they], obviously being seeded No. 2 and being here before, weren't going to go away," she said. "I thought they did a very good job of responding in Set 3 and 4. We just got a little timid and couldn't [score]. Their defense picked up, and that's where we just struggled."