North St. Paul wins its first Class 3A, Section 4 crown over perennial foe Stillwater

North St. Paul's Lauren Stenman scores the deciding point — one of her match-high 14 kills. Stenman and the Polars are headed to next week's Class 3A state tournament after defeating Stillwater in three sets. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Bria Sandifer (16) led the Polars with a match-high 32 assists. North St. Paul defeated Stillwater in three straight sets, 25-19, 25-15, 26-15 at Roseville Area High School on Thursday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

In every Class 3A, Section 4 tournament over the past three years, Stillwater has knocked out North St. Paul. The Ponies defeated the Polars in the semifinals in 2016, and in the past two seasons, Stillwater won in each championship.

History did not repeat itself on Thursday, as the Polars defeated the Ponies in three sets — 25-19, 25-15, 25-15 — to advance to the Class 3A state tournament for the first time.

“Beating Stillwater is a dream come true,” North St. Paul senior Bria Sandifer said. “It literally just feels so unreal, we’ve been working so hard and for the however many years we’ve been losing to Stillwater, so it just feels so good.”

The Polars (22-5) were in complete control throughout the match, with the exception of the beginning of the second set. The Ponies (16-13) got out to a 7-4 lead, and it looked like it was going to be a back-and-forth set.

“I think there was that one blip where they got ahead, it was a slight down moment,” North St. Paul coach Stephanie Blanda said.

Photo Gallery: Stillwater vs. North St. Paul

The Polars responded with a 9-0 scoring run and never looked back from there. They would go on to win the second and third sets 25-15.

“I don’t think anything really changed, except a little bit less communication and then everybody got back on track,” Blanda said.

The Polars really started enjoying themselves after that run, celebrating every won point with exuberance and fully embracing the moment. At one point late in the second set, Abby Schell subbed into the game and got two massive digs to keep a point alive. The Polars won that point and Schell’s teammates shoved her out of excitement, almost sending her to the floor.

“There’s no words that describe how much fun we’re having,” Sandifer said. “We just play so good together and we enjoy the whole time we’re out there.”

That joy has translated into a lot of success for the Polars, as they have not lost a match since Sept. 28. They’re not only winning matches — they’re dominating them.

Asked how her team can carry this momentum into the state tournament, Blanda had an honest answer.

“That’s a great question; we haven’t gone, so I don’t know,” she said playfully.

Then, turning more serious, Blanda continued with total confidence in her team.

“I think that everybody is going to be really fired up, they’ve wanted this, everybody’s been working really hard at practice. I have no doubts that they will carry the momentum of this thing going forward.”

Stillwater's Maddie Whittington (7) plays the ball at the net in the second set. Whittington and teammate Sydney DeJarnett led the Ponies with six kills each in a three-set loss in the Class 3A, Section 4 final. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First report

North St. Paul is headed to the Class 3A state tournament for the first time after defeating Stillwater 25,-19, 25-15, 25-15 in the Class 3A, Section 4 championship Thursday in Roseville.

The first set was the most-contested, as the scoring was even throughout. The Polars (22-5) were able to pull away at the end of the set and win it 25-19. Lauren Stenman was on fire early with seven kills in the first set.

The Ponies (16-13) established an early 7-4 lead in the second set, and it looked like they were going to make the Polars struggle. But then the Polars went on a 9-0 scoring run, forcing the Ponies use two early timeouts. North St. Paul won the set 25-15.

The Polars established an early lead in the third set and never let go of it, winning 25-15.

Stenman finished with a match-high 14 kills. Many of those kills were assisted by Bria Sandifer, who had a match-high 32 assists.

The Ponies had a steady attack, as Maddie Whittington and Sydney Dejarnett both had a team-high six kills.

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