“I don’t know how I would do it as a player,” Red Knight coach Michael Becker said. “We talked all week about controlling the controllables. The more they could stay mindful to what they were doing on the court, we knew that was going to bring us some success.”

The teams eventually settled in, but the tightness of the match hardly ever dissipated. The first set saw Delano eke out a 27-25 victory while Benilde-St. Margaret’s found a little bit of cushion in the second set. 

Things turned back toward the Tigers’ favor when they took a tight third set. The Red Knights suddenly found themselves with their season on the line and needing to win the next two sets. Delano senior outside hitter Corbyn Menz led all hitters in the match with 20 kills and was a menace at the service line with three aces. 

With Benilde-St. Margaret’s having its back against the wall, the Red Knights leaned on earlier moments this season that helped define the Red Knights up until this point. One included a tough tournament in Marshall earlier this season.

“All season long, we’ve been down, out and challenged,” Becker said. “We’ve talked about leaning on those previous experiences.”

Benilde-St. Margaret’s went into the fourth set and took control, leading by as many as 10 points in the fourth set. While the Red Knights took the set, Delano clawed back and appeared to grab some of the momentum heading into the fifth set.

“We knew with a player like (Menz), we were going to have to weather some storms,” Becker said. “The fifth set was a reset.”

The Tigers got three of the first four points of the deciding set. However, Benilde-St. Margaret’s settled in and saw its leaders, such as senior outside hitter Lily Eigner step up. Eigner came up big with blocks and kills in the deciding set as she finished the match with 14 kills and a key block in the final set.

“We didn’t want it to end here and couldn’t be done now,” Eigner said. “We knew if we stayed aggressive, we would be fine. We trusted our training and worked as a family.”

After scoring each of the match’s first four points, the Red Knights grabbed the last four, which was enough to ensue a massive celebration of players, coaches and fans.

“It was surreal,” Eigner said. “We’ve been working for this for years.”

While there was jubilation on the Benilde-St. Margaret’s side, the normal tears that come in a section final loss occurred for Delano. However, Tigers coach Rebecca Rue was quick to let her players know how well they had done on this big stage.

“I think that match lived up to a section championship,” Rue said. “I told the girls that we can’t hold our heads down. Both teams played amazing volleyball.”

As the page turns and a new chapter begins for the Red Knights, the scene shifts to Xcel Energy Center, where Benilde-St. Margaret’s will make just its second-ever state tournament appearance.

“We made history,” Eigner said. “That’s what I’m most excited about.”