One final burst gets Concordia Academy to Class 2A volleyball semifinals

One mistake did not lead to another, and that led to victory Thursday for Concordia Academy.

The fifth-seeded Beacons scored seven of the final eight points in the fifth set to defeat fourth-seeded Belle Plaine 3-2 (15-25, 25-14, 10-25, 25-23, 15-13) in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A volleyball state tournament at Xcel Energy Center.

"We stayed calm when something went wrong," Beacons senior Kyla McTeague said. "We celebrated when we got that point. We were so excited for each other."

The Beacons trailed 12-8 in the fifth set but scored three straight points to get within one. After the Tigers reclaimed a two-point lead, the Beacons closed it out with four consecutive points.

The Tigers succeeded in bursts. A 4-0 lead led to victory in the first set. A 10-0 run at the end won the third set. But the bursts didn't stretch far enough in the other sets.

"It's very humbling. We knew it wasn't going to be a three-set match, just wiping them clean," Tigers senior Brianna Swenson said. "They were very good. They were scrappy."

Kyla and Ava McTeague led the Beacons (22-10) with 13 kills each. Kyla also had 28 digs, Ava 27 digs. Grace Tverberg had 38 assists and 14 digs, Emma Wasiloski had 16 digs and Nora Lynch 14 digs.

Annandale 3, Rush City 0: The third-seeded Cardinals ended the unseeded Tigers' 24-match winning streak, taking a 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 victory.

The Cardinals (27-4) were at their best in the first set, needing late pushes in the second and third sets.

"It was very important [to win the first set]," Cardinals senior Emma Simon said. "The last couple of years we just came here to be here. But this year, we wanted to make a statement. We need to win this game. We need to get as far as we can. We're not just here to be here. We're here to compete."

The Tigers (27-2) had not been down 2-0 at any point this season.

"We're not used to that," coach Eric Telander said. "I'm proud the way they played in that third set. It was nice to see that fight and grit come out in the third set."

"[Ball] placement is definitely a key," Jones said. "You hit the same spot, they know to cover there. If you switch it up, it catches them off guard. Then they don't have control on their offense."

McKenna Garr led the Tigers with 14 digs, and Cora Sayotovich had 12 assists.

Pequot Lakes 3, Barnesville 0: The top-seeded Patriots cruised past the unseeded Trojans 25-20, 25-18, 25-15.

The Patriots knew what to expect after making the second tournament appearance in school history a year ago.

"Sometimes when you come down, there is just the unknown," coach Christine Ganley said. "Even the elevator ride down. Some of us have done it. The other kids knew about us doing it. We talked a lot about when it happens so that kids that would be coming this year would have an idea that this is the process. Even the pregame thing too. You go in the locker room and you're there for this amount of time and they don't let you on the floor until here. It does matter. So I'm sure when Barnesville gets down here again they will be more ready."

"We knew coming into playoffs what we wanted," senior Emily Riddle said. "We wanted to get [through] sections. We worked hard for it, and it paid off. We proved some people wrong."

The Patriots trailed only once in Thursday's match. Their 3-2 deficit in the first set became a 4-3 lead, and they took off from there.

"We talked about strategy a lot for this game and what was open," Patriots junior Ella Kratochvil said.

Kratochvil led the Patriots (28-4) with 16 kills and 20 digs. Grace Hoffard had 10 kills, Abi Martin had 31 assists and Kelsi Martini had 21 digs.

Rumley Biewer led the Trojans (20-10) with 26 assists and 16 digs. Emily Smith had 13 kills, Sydney Strand had 13 digs and McKenzie Skogen had 10 digs.

"It helped us a ton," Bombers senior Kyra Schoenfelder said. "Yesterday we came up and watched the games. A lot of my teammates already said it felt like we belong here. It feels so much different than last year because last year when we came up and watched we were like, 'Oh, we're at the Xcel Energy Center. This is kind of intimidating.' When we showed up today, we really, truly worked our hardest to get here, and we belonged on the court."

The Arrows made a run late in the third set to get within one point but could not extend the match.

"I was saying now or never. We're all seniors. It's all or nothing," Arrows senior Callie Lingen said.

Falon Hepola had 29 assists for Cannon Falls (27-7). Madison Burr led the Bombers with 18 kills. Standing 6-1, she is an intimidating presence in the Bombers lineup.

"I think she makes them very scared," Schoenfelder said.