Bethlehem Academy back where it belongs

The absence was just one year, but for a team that celebrates championships as predictably as holidays, it seemed much longer.

Bethlehem Academy hogpiled at midcourt Saturday after winning the Class 1A state championship, defeating Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 25-15, 25-21, 25-20. Not an unusual response for a champion, but this pile of arms and legs and screams held a little more meaning.

From 2002 through 2012, Bethlehem Academy had been to the state tournament so frequently, the wide-open spaces of Xcel Center were nearly as comfy as its home gym. The Cardinals won six state championships during that span, the by-product of playing a schedule loaded with elite teams in all three classes.

But injuries and good competition kept the Cardinals out of the 2013 state tournament. Sitting home after having won the two previous state titles was just the motivation the team needed.

"We come from a very tough section," Bethlehem Academy coach Franz Boelter said. "It was hard for them to sit home last year. They were determined to get back."

Most of the Cardinals had played on previous state championship teams.

"After my freshman and sophomore years, I thought we'll do this again next year," middle hitter Lauren Mathews said of last season. "This is a little better because it's my senior year, and we wanted to forget last year."

"It makes a difference," said Mathews, who had 11 kills in the title match and made the all-tournament team along with teammates Payton Nutter and Payton Schultz. "It makes us better."

Top-seeded Bethlehem Academy attacked Tracy-Milroy-Balaton from the outset, taking a 14-2 lead in the first set en route to a 25-15 victory. The Panthers took leads in the second and third sets, but the Cardinals rallied each time.

"It was important for us to have a good first set," Boelter said.

Nutter, a sophomore setter, had 16 kills and 27 assists. Schultz, playing with three pins in her left elbow after shattering it in mid-September, had nine kills and 17 digs.