Lakeville South had never played in a volleyball state tournament before, so pre-tournament jitters were to be expected. Heck, even coach Stephen Willingham copped to a few butterflies Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

It wasn’t how the Cougars started that mattered, however. It was how they finished. Lakeville South rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Prior Lake 13-25, 21-25, 25-14, 25-19, 15-11.

“Of course, I was nervous,” Willingham admitted. “We’re playing one of the best teams in the state and it’s the biggest stage we play on all year.”

But the Cougars had two things working in their favor, one significantly more important than the other. They had played in a large arena in the section final in Rochester. And they had Jenny Mosser, the state’s most imposing hitter, on their side.

Prior Lake (26-6) took advantage of Lakeville South’s inexperience, jumping out to a two-set advantage.

“I think early, they were tight and our serve/receive game was well-played,” Prior Lake coach Mike Dean said. “But after set two, we got a little tight.”

Actually, the momentum began to swing in the second set. Prior Lake raced out to a big early lead, but Lakeville South chipped away and closed the gap. The Lakers won 25-21, but the Cougars were finding their game.

“You could feel the momentum change,” said Lakeville South senior Halle Johnston, a defensive specialist.

Setting Mosser at every opportunity, Lakeville South (28-3) won the next two sets handily, setting up a deciding fifth set . Mosser started the Cougars with two tip-kills over the Prior Lake blockers and they never trailed after that.

“She’s so hard to block because she’s so athletic,” Prior Lake setter Ellie Veldman said. “She can change to a tip and there’s nothing you can do.”
Mosser finished with 29 kills, including in emphatic spike from the left side to close out the match.

“She carried the load today, that’s for sure,” Willingham said.