1A volleyball: Meadow Creek goes the distance again

Meadow Creek Christian is no stranger to five-game, down-to-the-very-last-wire volleyball matches. After all, the Saints qualified for the Class 1A tournament with a 3-2 victory over Mayer Lutheran in the Section 4 finals.

So there was no fretting, no emotional demonstration when the unseeded Saints lost the first two games against No. 4 seed Nevis in the state quarterfinals Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. Meadow Creek rallied to win the next three games and advance to today's semifinals against Bethlehem Academy.

"We believe in each other, I think that's the biggest thing," Saints senior hitter Kelli Strandlund said. "We keep playing together and don't get down on each other."

Nevis, making its state tournament debut, won the opening two games 25-22, 25-15. That's when Meadow Creek Christian regrouped, winning 25-9, 25-22, 16-14.

The Saints came in with a bit of state experience; their seniors were here in 2006. That made a difference, said coach Therese Bertsch.

"They were here as freshmen, they're just very determined, they just didn't give up," she said, calling familiarity with the surrounding a "huge" factor.

"You're not caught up by everything and you don't make it bigger than life. It's a big place with lots of fans."

Lauren Sutherland had 21 kills for Meadow Creek Christian (27-6) and Strandlund had 16. Steph Rohwer had 42 assists and 16 digs. For Nevis (24-6-1), Riley Hanson had 21 kills and Amanda Allman had 42 assists and 22 digs.

Bethlehem Academy 3, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 0: The Cardinals (28-3), who have played in the past seven state title matches, rolled behind a strong defensive effort, 25-8, 25-15, 25-9. Victoria Nass (14), Jessica Mathews (11) and KariAnne Nass (10) combined for 35 digs, Jena Budde had 43 assists and Holly Hafemeyer had 21 kills. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (25-8) was led by Stephanie Howe with 18 assists, Cheyenne Briese with 17 digs and Lexi Platz with 11 kills.

Minneota 3, Parkers Prairie 0: Minneota (27-5), the 2006 champion, rolled into the semifinals 25-15, 25-14, 25-14 as Taya Kockelman had 36 assists, Leah Fadness had 15 kills and 15 digs, and Ashlynn Muhl had 13 kills. Future Gophers basketball player Sari Noga had 10 kills for Parkers Prairie (24-8-2). Madison Dorn had 11 assists and Jazmyn Dorn had 17 digs.

Lake of the Woods 3, Deer River 0: The Bears (23-8-2) triumphed 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 behind 15 kills by Ashley Feldman and 11 by Ali Hasbargen. Jessica Marken had 30 assists and Heather Stanton had 14 digs. Deer River's Leah Benham and Maija Erzar each had eight kills and Becca Rudquist had 10 digs.