While so many teams at the state tournament cop to butterflies the size of fruit bats before their opening round match, Belle Plaine wages a different battle.

The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and seeded No. 1 in the tournament field, are tournament veterans. Their comfortable 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 victory over Perham in the Class 2A quarterfinals was the opening salvo in their fourth consecutive quest for a state championship.

The problem is, Belle Plaine has been there and done that, winning first-round matches in 2012 and 2014 only to follow up with a loss in the semifinals to Marshall, the champion from the previous season.

When the Tigers take the court in the semifinals Friday, the opponent across the net will be Stewartville, the 2014 champion.

“That’s kind of strange, but you know what? I tell the team that if you want to win [the championship], you have to beat them all at some point anyway,” said Belle Plaine coach Cassie Koch. “Actually, it should be a great match. We’ve got a great offense and they’ve got a great defense.”

The Tigers' great offense was on display in the quarterfinals. They are led by junior outside hitter Mariena Hayden, who has committed to Division I Nevada-Las Vegas and is one of the state’s most powerful hitters.

Hayden finished with 20 kills on just 35 attacks and teammate Kaylee Hentges added 13 kills on 18 attacks. Junior setter Danielle Taylor spread the ball deftly between the two and ended up with 45 assists.

“I think maybe we were afraid their big guns,” Perham coach Eryn Moser said. “We don’t see that up north.”

For Belle Plaine, it was more a matter of survival. The Tigers knew they were the superior team, so getting through the match unscathed was a priority. Getting through to the semifinals is old news. Getting past them is a different story.

“Our fans, they expect us to get here, but they don’t think that this is a completely different team than four years ago, than three years ago,” Koch said. “These girls have been playing together for two years now and they know each other so well. That is the difference between this team and other teams we’ve had. It was important to get through [the match] in three set and be able to rest some legs. It should be a much tougher match tomorrow.”

FIRST REPORT

Belle Plaine, top-seeded and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, dumped Perham 25-20, 25-17, 25-18. 

The Tigers, making their fourth consecutive tournament appearance, got 20 kills from Mariena Hayden, 13 from Kaylee Hentges and 45 set assists from Danielle Taylor to improve to 30-3 on the season.

Perham fell to 27-6.

Stewartville is back at the state tournament and playing with the same crazy-effective defense that it has become known for.

The defending champions defeated Hill-Murray 25-14, 25-11, 22-25, 25-18, but one thing is different this year: The team is without coach John Dzubay, the winningest coach in Minnesota prep volleyball history.

“I’m not trying to fill John’s shoes,” said Scott Willenborg, the team’s interim coach. “It’s not a role I cherish.”

Dzubay was sanctioned in May by the Minnesota State High School League for league rule violations.  He was suspended for the first five games of the season.

The Stewartville school board took the suspension one step further, suspending Dzubay for the postseason. He coached the Tigers for the largest portion of the regular season, but the board ruling means he isn’t allowed in the building to watch the team play.

A few of the Tigers are struggling with Dzubay not being around.

“I didn’t want to focus on him, I can’t think about it too much,” senior middle hitter Jenna Willenborg said.

Coach Willenborg added that Dzubay played a major role in the girls' lives outside of volleyball, sending birthday cards and serving as band teacher for a few.

Senior setter Karissa Kime said the team's players have refocused on themselves. “Every year our team is different and we have to focus on ourselves,” she said. “We aren’t doing it for the fans or for Dzubay.”

While Stewartville has had a successful postseason without Dzubay, the Tigers have been prone to a puzzling trend.

“We’ve lost the third set in every section match except the first one and now apparently we’re doing the same thing at state,” coach Willenborg said.

The one-set loss doesn’t seem to have frazzled the Tigers, who take pride in their defense.

“It’s an attitude,” senior libero Emily Branstad said.

The Tigers, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, will face No. 1 Belle Plaine in the semifinals on Friday.

FIRST REPORT

Solid defense propelled Stewartville past Hill-Murray in four sets, 25-14, 25-11, 22-25, 25-18.

Senior middle hitter Jenna Willenborg led the No. 4-seeded Tigers with 12 kills.

Stewartville's tenacious defense kept the ball in play, forcing Hill-Murray to make mistakes in the first two sets.

Senior setter Karissa Kime led her team back from a six-point deficit in third set with a kill to cut the Pioneer lead to 12-10. But senior outside hitter Ellie Schwartz found a weak spot in the Tigers' defense with kills to the front left corner of the court, helping the Pioneers win the third set 25-22.

Schwartz finished with a double-double of 14 kills and 13 digs. Kime had five kills, 21 assists and 16 digs for the Tigers.

The Pioneers adjusted their play in the fourth set by serving aggressive and forcing the ball over on one to two contacts. But Stewartville’s digs kept the Pioneers at bay. A back-row attack call on game point ended No. 5-seeded Hill-Murray’s run for the championship.

Concordia Academy, the No. 2 seed in the Class 2A field, overwhelmed Hermantown in consecutive sets, winning 25-13, 25-14, 25-18 to advance to the semifinals on Friday.

The Beacons (26-6) added another impressive victory to a growing list, having already defeated state tournament entrants Stewartville, Belle Plaine, Heritage Christian, Hill-Murray and Roseville during the regular season.

Concordia spread its 45 kills across six different players, led by Erin Fallert’s 14, and shut down Hermantown (25-5) with 14 blocks.

The final match of the day turned out to be the closest as Rocori defeated Morris/Chokio-Alberta in five sets, 21-25, 25-17, 14-25, 25-21, 15-12.

The Spartans (29-1) trailed 2-1, but rallied to win the fourth set and took a 10-3 lead in the final set. Morris (24-4) rallied, cutting the deficit to 10-7, but the Tigers could never get closer.

Rocori’s Eleanor Holthaus had six kills in the final set and finished with a team-leading 15 for the match. Breanna Schouviller, the hero of the fourth set with seven kills, had 13 overall.

Morris was led by Brooke Gillespie’s match-high 20 kills.