It took 35 matches, all the way to the semifinals of the state tournament, for Caledonia (30-5) to play to a fifth set. When it finally happened, the Warriors came out on top with a 20-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 16-14 victory over No. 2 seed Tracy-Milroy-Balaton.
The third-seeded Warriors overcame a 2-1 set deficit to put themselves back in the championship match for the first time since they finished as runner-up in the Class 2A tournament in 2012.
“If they’re down, they have a lot of confidence to come back,” Caledonia coach Scott Koepke said.
The match was so tight that the teams were even knotted at 20 kills apiece after the second set.
Everything seemed to go the Warriors’ way in the second set, as they used a 7-0 run to take a 21-12 lead. The Panthers responded, but junior Madisyn Heaney finished off the set for the Warriors with two kills. Heaney also had the kill on set point to force a fifth set.
The Warriors kept calm throughout the fourth set as well.
“We just said, we’re going to go into five,” said senior Mariah Schroeder, who led the Warriors with 15 kills and added 14 digs. For the match, the Warriors had 102 digs to 91 for the Panthers.
It was close until the final points of the match. The Warriors won it after a shot by the Panthers (29-8) sailed long.
“I think we struggled to handle the pressure when things got tough,” Panthers junior Kaylee Kirk said.
Junior Sydney Lanoue led the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton with 21 of the team’s 45 kills. Coach Katie Gervais acknowledged that both teams didn’t let up and had a good battle back and forth throughout the match. Caledonia just played better, she said.
“I definitely think we didn’t lose the match,” Gervais said. “I think they won the match. There’s a big difference.”
It took five sets for No. 3 seed Caledonia to move on in the Class 1A semifinals over No. 2 seed Tracy-Milroy-Balaton with a score of 20-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21, 16-14.
The match was so tight that the teams were even knotted at 20 kills apiece after the second set.
Everything seemed to go the Warriors’ way in the second set, as they used a 7-0 run to take a 21-12 lead. The Panthers responded, but junior Madisyn Heaney finished off the set for the Warriors with two kills.
Heaney also had the kill on set point to force a fifth set.
It was close until the final points of the match. The Warriors (30-5) won it after a shot by the Panthers (29-8) sailed long.
Check back later for more on the match,