Watertown-Mayer took the energy it found at the end of the first set and went on to win the next three sets to defeat Totino-Grace 20-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 and claim the Class 2A, Section 5 title.

Royals senior setter Nikki McDonald said her team was shaken up and nervous at the start of the match. They needed to calm down and focus on playing their game.

The Royals regrouped, showing a strong will to win and something more important to the squad.

“I think they trust me a lot,” McDonald said. “I don’t want them to second guess themselves, so I try to give them a ball I know they can use and get a kill off of every time. Sometimes I’m gonna make mistakes, but they trust me overall and I definitely believe that the trust that we have between each other makes my job so much easier.”

Raser knows the trust within the team is strong. She also said that McDonald brings a lot of value to the squad, which is why on the last play of the match she let McDonald decide how to end it.

“She asked me ‘who should I set to?’ I said ‘set to who you want to’ I trust her to and so do her teammates,” Raser said.

The chemistry for Watertown-Mayer is evident. McDonald said her team can overcome any challenge if it can get one thing right above all else -- passing.

“This is kind of my motto ‘passing wins’ because ever since I was little I’ve been in the mindset of passing wins,” McDonald said. “No matter how good your hitters are if you can’t pass the ball you can’t set it. I say that before every game, every single game.”

McDonald put her talents on display Saturday. She had 41 assists in the match. Her main targets were outside hitter Paige Thibault (17 kills) and right-side hitter Kylie Hoese (15 kills).

Watertown-Mayer’s trio gave the Totino Grace defense a lot of problems. The Eagles battled in the last set to extend the match but fell just short, losing 25-21.

After dispatching Totino-Grace, a team that made the section final in 2014, 2015 and 2017, the Royals return to the state tournament with confidence and motivation.

“We just need to go out, and be confident, and know that we’re there for a reason, it’s not a fluke,” Rasen said. “We earned a spot to be there just like everybody else did and just go out and play like a state tournament team.”