Belle Plaine defeats second-seeded Marshall in Class 2A volleyball quarterfinals

Ahead two sets to one against a perennial tournament team, Belle Plaine was not going to let the match go to a fifth set — even after getting down 9-1 in the fourth set.

"We all, in a huddle, just looked at each other and said, 'Let's go,' " Belle Plaine senior middle hitter Lizzy Hilgers said. "We know we can do this and make this play, and then we all had confidence in each other again."

Unseeded Belle Plaine (29-6) got itself back in the set and completed the upset of No. 2 seed Marshall 25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 25-22 in the Class 2A quarterfinals Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

Going into the match, Belle Plaine coach Rich Foust knew his team wasn't going to outhit or outfox Marshall.

"But we did keep going after them," Foust said. "Even when we were down 9-1. We were able to come back one point at a time."

Marshall (28-7), last year's runner-up, was without senior middle hitter Paige Andries. She broke her hand in practice Monday, and the team found out just before game time that she wasn't able to play, Marshall coach Dan Westby said.

Westby, while crediting Belle Plaine for putting pressure on his team offensively, blamed himself for not getting his players ready for the match.

"We had some really good plays there to kind of get the momentum," Duis said. "So I think it was a calming of the waters a little bit."

The No. 5-seeded Beacons (26-6) went on a 10-1 run to finish off a 25-19, 25-18, 25-12 victory over fourth-seeded Watertown-Mayer.

It's the third consecutive year the Royals (24-7) have lost in the state quarterfinals.

Stewartville 3, Annandale 0: The offense of the top-seeded Tigers packs some power, evidenced by its 43 kills in their 25-17, 25-12, 25-21 quarterfinal victory over Annandale, which had only 25 kills.

Junior Jaidyn Brower had 32 assists, primarily setting senior outside hitters Kaitlyn Prodzinski and Lily Welch, who had 12 and 10 kills, respectively.

While it's the Tigers' 24th state tournament trip, it's their first since 2015.

The Cardinals (27-4) were making their first state tournament appearance.

North Branch 3, Pequot Lakes 0: Last year, the Vikings played three five-set matches in winning the state title.

This year's quarterfinal was a bit different. No. 3 seed North Branch swept Pequot Lakes 25-20, 25-11, 25-18. It was a good feeling coming off the court, Vikings coach Mike Selbitschka acknowledged: "We'll obviously have a little more legs in us, and a little more energy than we had going five games each set last year."

North Branch (28-4) started the second set on a 13-0 run and didn't let the Patriots get close.