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Class 2A: Belle Plaine, Concordia Academy to meet again, this time for the title

By Bryce Evans, Special to the Star Tribune, 11/13/15, 8:15PM CST

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The Beacons swept Rocori while the Tigers defeated Stewartville in four sets.


Concordia Academy 3, Rocori 0


Players from Concordia Academy-Roseville celebrates their victory over Rocori in the Class 2A semifinals. Photo: MATT BLEWETT • matt@mattebphoto.com, special to Star Tribune (click on photo to see more)

Concordia Academy coach Kim Duis said her team has a simple formula: serve tough and play good defense. That’s what the No. 2 Beacons did against third-seeded Rocoir, finishing with 52 digs and no service errors in a clean 25-10, 25-21, 25-20 sweep.

“[Thursday] night I thought we were a little sluggish,” Duis said, “and this is just how we can play. ... We played pretty steady through the whole game. Nothing gets us rattled.”

Erin Fallert led the Beacons with 11 kills and Elisabeth Tramm finished with 30 assists, as Concordia never appeared in danger of losing a set.

Eleanor Holthaus led Rocori with 11 kills, but the Spartans, who lost just once in the regular season, couldn’t muster much of an attack against the Concordia defenders.

Concordia plays Belle Plaine on Saturday with a chance for its first title since Duis was a junior on the team in 1987. The Beacons handed No. 1 Belle Plaine one of its three losses on the season — albeit by a point-differential tie-breaker after the teams split two sets on Sept. 25.

“I still think it, like, hasn’t really registered yet,” Fallert said. “But we’re ready.”
 

FIRST REPORT

No. 2 seed Concordia Academy controlled play from start to finish in a clean 25-10, 25-21, 25-20 sweep of third-seeded Rocori in Friday’s second semifinal matchup.

Erin Fallert led the Beacons with 11 kills and Elisabeth Tramm finished with 30 assists, as Concordia never appeared in danger of losing a set.

Eleanor Holthaus had 11 kills for Rocori.

Concordia advances to the championship match for the first time since 1987. The Beacons face a familiar opponent in Belle Plaine. Concordia handed the No. 1-seedd Tigers one of their three losses on the season — albeit by a point-differential tie-breaker after the teams split two sets on Sept. 25.

Check back later for more on the game.


Belle Plaine 3, Stewartville 1


Belle Plaine players celebrate their victory over Stewartville in the Class 2A semifinals. Photo: MATT BLEWETT • matt@mattebphoto.com, special to Star Tribune (click on photo to see more)

Minutes after their hopes for a Class 2A title defense came to an end Friday, all the Stewartville players could do was smile and shake their heads.

Senior Karrisa Kime called the match “fun.” Jenna Willenborg said she “couldn’t be happier” with her team’s play.

“We’ve seen a lot of good hitters. But this,’’ Stewartville coach Scott Willenborg said of his team’s opponent, Belle Plaine, “is just the best team. ... Sometimes, there’s just not much you can do about it.”

That’s how impressive top-seeded Belle Plaine looked in rolling past Stewartville 25-19, 25-12, 20-25, 25-18 in the first 2A semifinal match at Xcel Energy Center.

The Tigers’ three-headed attack — junior Mariena Hayden and seniors Dakotah Poitra and Kaylee Hentges — combined for 52 kills, and Belle Plaine overpowered the defending champs to earn the program’s first title game appearance.

“It’s really exciting, because every year we’ve ... just missed,” said Hayden, who is playing in her fourth state tournament. “It’s nice coming out on the other side of this game.”

Hayden had a dominant final set, bookending an early 6-0 run a pair of blistering shots through the Stewartville defense. She finished with 27 kills.

“We’re going to enjoy the moment,” Belle Plaine coach Cassie Koch said, “and at the end of the day [Saturday], we’ll put it all out there.”

 

FIRST REPORT

Too much power. Too much precision. Too much defense.

Top-ranked Belle Plaine was simply too much for defending Class 2A state champion Stewartville, rolling to a 25-19, 25-12, 20-25, 25-18 victory on Friday at Xcel Energy Center to earn a chance to play for their first state title in program history.

Belle Plaine stars Mariena Hayden and Dakotah Poitra picked apart the Stewartville defense. Hayden had 27 kills while Poitra had 13 kills. Hayden also had 24 digs.

Danielle Taylor had 60 assists in the winning effort.

Stewartville's lone highlight was a strong run late in the third set, as eighth-grader Kaitlyn Prondzinski provided a spark with four kills in the stanza.

Belle Plaine fell behind 7-2 in the fourth before coach Cassie Koch called a timeout. The Tigers then went on a 6-0 run, bookended by slams from Hayden, and cruised from there.

Jenna Willenborg led Stewartville with nine kills.

Check back later for more on the game.

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