With a 3-0 win over New Ulm Cathedral in Arlington on Thursday, the second-seeded Clipper girls will take on sixth-ranked BOLD in the section semifinals at St Peter High School on October 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Seventh-seeded Cathedral was far from a cupcake team. The Greyhounds' 15-13 record coming in didn’t indicate that 10 of their matches were against 2A, 3A or 4A teams. In their other two meetings with the Clippers this fall, they took a game, and they were never out of match on Thursday until the last point.
“That was the message today,” said head coach Dave Nixon. “They’re going to compete. You have to put them away. They’re going to keep fighting.”
Although they had trouble keeping away from errors, the Greyhounds still hung around most of game one. A Keira Schipper ace block followed by a Maile Meissner kill put the Clippers up 17-12, but their next hit went out of bounds, and Cathedral pushed over a winner to pull within three, 17-13.
“They can make runs very quickly if you are not taking care of the ball on your side, and we expected that,” Nixon said. “For a while, we were not handing the first ball very well, and the set was inconsistent, and that’s when they were digging everything. We had to get back to a good pass and good set and just hammer the ball to make it tough on them to score.”
The Clippers spurted for the next five points to close in to the W. They included a Taylor McCabe kill and ace tip and an Aubrey Blaschko ace block. A McCabe ace tip was the last Cleveland winner before the Clippers won the game 25-18 when Cathedral got ticketed for four hits.
A Melia Sathoff kill followed by a McCabe kill were the first two points of the second game. But the Greyhounds, upping their attack game, hung with the Clippers and, after a McCabe kill, scored on a pair of kills and an ace block to lead 14-11 and then 16-12.
But Nixon called a timeout, the Clippers regrouped, and right-side hitter Aubrey Blaschko landed a hit on the opposite side of the court. Cathedral responded with a kill, but a Sathoff kill was the catalyst to a five-point Clipper run, which included two more Sathoff winners.
The Greyhounds only managed one point from there, and, after a couple of Sathoff ace serves and McCabe kills, the Clippers won the game 25-18 when the Greyhounds contacted the net.
With three kills for a 5-1 Clipper lead, McCabe dominated the start of game three. Later, setter Jocelyn Kortuem shoved over an ace, and McCabe and Sathoff traded kills.
Trailing 19-13, the Greyhounds went on a five-point streak, but a Sathoff kill halted the uprising, and the game ended 25-20 on a McCabe kill.
McCabe said the Clippers typically up their game as the match progresses. She said reading the defense is part of that, and during time outs, the Clippers talk about where the team is positioned and what is open on the other side.
But she said ultimately, a positive mindset is key.
“I just knew we could do it,” said McCabe, who led the offense with 20 kills. “Playing as a team and with a good attitude helps. It was a real team effort.”
Sathoff totaled 15 kills. Blaschko had three kills, Kortuem had two kills, and Delaney Thompson, Schipper and Meissner each swatted one kill.
Kortuem set up 34 winners. Thompson had five set assists. Sathoff assisted on a pair of Clipper points Luci Blaschko had one set assist.
Sathoff landed all 23 of her serves in bounds with two of them aces. McCabe, Kortuem, Blaschko and Kaitlyn Flowers each flung over one ace serve. The Clippers only missed three serves.
Schipper reached for one solo ace block and two block assists. Kortuem assisted with two ace blocks. Aubrey Blaschko and Meyer each assisted an ace block.
Thompson unearthed 14 digs. McCabe elevated a dozen digs. Luci Blaschko raised nine digs. Sathoff lifted 11 digs. Kortuem scraped eight digs. Flowers hoisted three digs. Aubrey Blaschko scratched out two digs.
On the other side of the bracket, top-ranked BLHS swept ninth-ranked Martin Luther/GHEC/Truman while Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s beat Martin County West 3-1. SESM vs BLHS will be the early (6:00 p.m.) game at St. Peter.
The winner of Cleveland vs BOLD advances to the championship game, which will take place at 6:00 p.m. on October 30, also at SPHS. BOLD upset third-seeded Cedar Mountain 3-1.
Above: Taylor McCabe releases a hit.
Luci Blaschko waits for a Cathedral serve to land.
Aubrey Blaschko bumps a pass.
Libero Delaney Thompson scooped 14 digs.
Melia Sathoff passes near the net.
Maile Meissner watches the ball descend on the NUC side of the court.
All tropical, Braeden Smith was one of a handful of football players who made a beeline to Arlington after practice ended.