/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

SECTION 3AA VOLLEYBALL: Different approach, similar result

Marshall returns to state with second straight win over Morris Area

Photo by Jenny Kirk Marshall’s Sofie Bock tips the ball over the net during their Section 3AA Championship match against Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta on Saturday. Marshall defeated MACA 3-0 to advance to the Class AA tournament.

MARSHALL – Marshall found itself in familiar territory after winning the first two sets (25-21, 25-13) in the Section 3AA Championship against Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta on Saturday in the R/A Facility at Southwest Minnesota State University.

It was a repeat of the 2017 section final against MACA, with Marshall winning the first two sets before its opponent evened the tally and forced a fifth set, which Marshall eventually won 15-10.

This year, the Marshall Tigers (27-5 overall) shut the door early on Morris, closing out the third set with an impressive 25-6 effort and punching their ticket to state for the second straight year.

“It’s crazy,” Marshall setter Rachel Schwarz said after the win. “It was awesome. Last year, we went into five sets, so it was a lot better to just go into three for us this year.”

A kill from Logan Sherman, a Morris setting error and a pair of kills from Bria Morris gave Marshall a 4-0 lead in the third set. The Marshall Tigers continued their relentless offensive attack, with Sherman adding two more kills en route to an 8-1 advantage.

A kill from Erica Jones pushed the score to 13-6. Schwarz then got behind the serving line and put the ball in play 13 straight times. Schwarz collected two ace serves, while Jones had a trio of kills and one ace block during the stretch.

“Rachel (Schwarz) went on a serving run there to end the match, where she served 13 in a row,” Marshall coach Dan Westby said. “That’s pretty unusual, especially in a section final. But our kids at that point, I think, could smell blood in the water. I’m really happy for our kids, that they get this opportunity. It never gets old. And we’re looking forward to the state tournament. It should be fun.”

Marshall received the third seed at in the Class AA tournament and will take on Park Rapids Area (24-6) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

“We’re just ecstatic,” Jones said. “This was one of our goals from the beginning. Our first goal was to win the Big South (Conference). We got that accomplished and then our goal was to win the section and we did that. But we’re not done yet. We still have a goal to go and win state.”

Marshall struggled to find its rhythm early on in the championship match. Although the effort was there, things weren’t quite clicking. Morris Area (19-8 overall) rode a nine-game winning streak into the contest.

“We had too many serving errors in the first set,” Westby said. “We had five serving errors. We’d talked before the match, that one of the difficulties with the team we played (Saturday), is they don’t make errors. They had one serving error all night long and they’re really good about limiting their hitting errors and other sorts of errors. They’re going to make you earn, which we certainly did.”

Marshall committed 14 total errors in the first set, but its tenacious hitters put together enough solid runs to edge the Morris Tigers. After an 8-3 lead forced its opponent to take a timeout in Set 1, Jordyn Hilgemann contributed two kills and Erica Jones and Sofie Bock added one apiece to push Marshall’s advantage to 13-3.

A Bria Morris kill gave the Marshall Tigers a 17-7 lead before MACA battled back. A Marshall tipping error brought Morris to within six at 18-13. After Hilgemann and Jones collected kills, Marshall was outscored 6-1. Sophia Carlsen pitched in a kill and an ace block for Morris in the stretch, which put the score at 22-20 in Marshall’s favor.

“We felt that the final 10 points of Set 1 was probably the worst stretch we had all night,” Westby said. “After that, we felt like we played pretty well.”

After a timeout, Jones hammered the ball to the floor, as did Sherman twice, to close out the first set 25-21.

“(The R/A Facility is) such a big place compared to the gyms we generally play in,” Westby said. “Certainly, there’s an adjustment period, Morris Area only had one service error so they didn’t have a difficult time and we did.”

Marshall cut its errors in half during the second set. Libero Mia Schnaible picked up an ace serve to give Marshall a 4-2 edge. Kills from Sherman on the right side and a successfully-executed tandem by Paige Andries pushed the team’s lead to 7-2 and forced a timeout.

“I thought we played with high energy the whole time and I thought we worked really hard and fought for each other,” Schwarz said. “Mr. Westby said we should do something extra special for our team and I thought everyone did their part and did that for us.”

Kills from Hilgemann and Bock, along with an ace serve from Sherman kept the rally going. After a pair of kills from Sherman gave Marshall a 20-11 edge, four additional kill from Hilgemann sparked a second set victory.

“I think being in the big open space (at the R/A Facility) was definitely something we had to adjust to with serving, hitting and setting,” Jones said. “We had five serving errors in the first set, so we really tried to clean those up, along with other things like that.”

Schwarz, who led the team with 20 set assists and 18 for 19 serving with two aces, said hard work and determination is what enabled the team to reach their goals this season.

“We work really hard every practice,” she said. “I think we only had one day off the whole year. (Now) I’m looking forward to spending time with my team (at state) and just doing something special with everyone.”

Marshall spread its attack out at the net, with Sherman chipping in 12 kills, followed by Jones (11), Hilgemann (10) and Morris (9). Schnaible led the defense with 13 digs, while Jones, Schwarz and Sherman had five apiece.

Sherman also contributed 18 set assists, while Andries, Morris and Jones each had an ace block for Marshall.

“We had the chance to watch (Morris Area) play a couple of times and we kind of felt we had a pretty good handle on what they had and thought our kids served to where they needed to serve to,” Westby said. “We didn’t block a lot of balls – we only had a few on the night – but I thought we slowed a lot of balls down. I also thought Mia was really solid defensively in the back row.”

Last year, the Marshall Tigers placed fourth at the state volleyball tournament after a two-year absence. Prior to that, Marshall had made 14 straight trips to state. Jones said she thinks the experience from 2017 will factor into play this year.

“I think we were a little nervous last year,” Jones said. “Now, we’re more used to it and can go and make a good tournament run.”

Morris Area 21 13 6

Marshall 25 25 25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Serving (comp-att-aces): Rachel Schwarz 18-19-2, Erica Jones 14-16-1, Mia Schnaible 15-18-1. Kills: Logan Sherman 12, Jones 11, Jordyn Hilgemann 10, Bria Morris 9, Paige Andries 4. Digs: Schnaible 13, Jones 5, Schwarz 5, Sherman 5. Set Assists: Schwarz 20, Sherman 18. Blocks: Jones 1, Andries 1, Morris 1.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today