Champions at last

All-tournament trio leads Knights to first state title with 3-1 win over Mayer Lutheran

ST. PAUL -- For the first time in program history, the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton volleyball team is a state champion. The top-seeded Knights showed grit and determination to put together a spectacular second-set comeback and rode that momentum to a four-set win over Mayer Lutheran at the Xcel Energy Center on Saturday afternoon to claim the Class A championship.

"We kind of had this mindset going into state that we're going to refuse to lose no matter what and we're going to try our hardest. I think that we had a lot of confidence before going into the match and I think we showed that," RTR outside hitter Tatum Hess said.

RTR started the second set strong enough before Mayer Lutheran started to gain momentum. Facing a 6-4 deficit, the Crusaders scored eight of the next nine points to go up by 5. Looking as if they had momentum, Mayer Lutheran built their lead up to 21-14.

"All we kept saying on the court was we have to do this. We have to win this, we have to refuse to lose, we have to have this confidence," Hess said. "That mindset really pushed us through and then obviously that one serve that went in the net really got our momentum going. From there, we kind of just played as our team, the team that we know, and it worked out in our favor."

The Knights turned the tables quickly. Two kills by Ally Nelson and another by Hess, broken up by an Ellie Shipler kill for Mayer, cut the deficit to five points. Mari Buhr got a kill for the Crusaders after a Mayer Lutheran hitting error. A Mayer Lutheran hitting error and service error followed by a Gabi Borresen service ace brought RTR within two points, 21-23.

Buhr got another kill, her fifth of the set, to set up match point. Yet, another service error by the Crusaders extended the set and a pair of Mayer hitting errors knotted up the score at 24-24.

Marley Martin and Abby Carr traded kills and then Martin and Nelson traded kills to make the score 26-26. The teams swapped errors and then Hess and Danica Martin traded kills, tying up the match at 28-28.

If the marathon hadn't already gone on long enough, a block by Buhr and Hallie Hunter followed by Nelson's seventh kill of the set -- on just 11 attempts -- tied it at 29-29 and a kill by Hess and an RTR error further extended the set. Just when it seemed like the game would never end, a Mayer Lutheran hitting error and Dilyn Werkman hit the comeback-sealing kill to claim a 32-30 victory and a 2-0 RTR lead in the match.

"Even having our B squad, props to them, like while we're in practice, we'll practice being down and they can hit the ball at us," Borresen, who finished with 49 set assists and no errors in the match, said. "They're also a good squad and they help us build that energy and confidence to know that we can come back from something like that."

The second set was a huge momentum shift for the Knights, RTR head coach Daynica Brown said, adding that the mental part of the game in come-from-behind situations is something that they've honed in on as a group all year.

"It's been a big key factor that I've worked with them on over the years to make sure that mentally, if you're down, it's not done until it's 25," Brown said. "It's not done until the game's officially done. You can go into extra points, you've just got to be confident in your play and keep going after it. Confident in your teammates. That's what I think all the girls did."

The teams combined for 11 ties in the second game, nearly double the six total from the other three frames. The five lead changes were also tied with the other three sets combined.

Brown added that the RTR crowd in the stands was also a big factor in the team's second-set comeback.

"It's like our whole town who supports us. Every community, everything around, and it's honestly the best feeling to know that you have so many people supporting you," Nelson said. "We've had so many people support us through this whole season, so it's really nice to see everyone came up to support us still."

The support goes beyond just the towns of Russell, Tyler and Ruthton. Southwest Christian, for one, sent RTR gift bags while Mabel-Canton was starting RTR cheers in the crowd during the title match, Borresen said.

Avery Schreurs led a particularly effective RTR back row with 23 digs. It wasn’t just the libero getting it done for the Knights, though; Borresen, Carr and Hess added 16, 15 and 14 respectively while Laken Baartman added another nine. In addition to the back line, the RTR front row had itself a block party. Werkman tallied seven block assists, Camry Swanson added another six and Nelson finished with four block assists and the only solo block of the match. As a team, the Knights finished with 21 total blocks and held Mayer Lutheran to a .118 hitting percentage.

Libero Clara Keaveny and Danica Martin led Mayer Lutheran with 25 and 21 digs. Despite their efforts, RTR finished with a slight 90-87 advantage in digs on the night.

Mayer Lutheran started the fourth set on a 3-0 run before the Knights woke up. The Crusaders last led 6-5 before RTR went on a 5-1 run, led by a pair of Swanson kills, to take the lead. Mayer Lutheran scored three unanswered points of their own to tie the match but never regained the lead.

RTR extended its lead to as many as 7 points, 20-13, before the Crusaders made a final push. Danica Martin had three key kills to help Mayer Lutheran close the gap and Courtney Tuttle had the kill that brought RTR's lead to 2 points, 24-22. Yet, Swanson quashed any hope of a comeback with the championship-sealing kill, 25-22. Five of Swanson's six kills came in the clinching set.

While the Knights had hopes for a sweep entering the third set, Mayer Lutheran had other plans. The Knights jumped out to a 6-2 lead and led by as many as 5 points before the Crusaders flipped the script. A trio of kills by Buhr and another two from Danica Martin helped Mayer Lutheran trim the deficit down to two points, 15-13.

Another pair of Danica Martin kills, followed by an RTR hitting error, a Marley Martin ace and yet another Danica Martin kill put the Crusaders up 18-15 on a 5-0 run. Danica Martin tallied six kills in the set.

RTR scored two of the next three points but the Crusaders closed out the set with six unanswered points to force a fourth game with a 25-19 win.

Carr led all hitters in the match with 21 kills on a .239 hitting percentage. Nelson added another 15 on just 29 attempts. Her .414 hitting percentage was more than .150 points better than any other hitter on either side and helped the Knights to a .189 team total.

Hess spent most of the tournament playing back row after an ankle injury in the Section 3A Championship match but had seven kills in the match, her highest total of the tournament.

Danica Martin and Buhr led Mayer Lutheran hitters with 19 and 15 kills respectively. Buhr also had four block assists, putting her second among Crusaders behind Marley Martin’s six with 11 kills.

Mayer Lutheran opened the first game with a pair of points off an RTR hitting error and an ace by Shipler. From there, a Crusader hitting error and a Werkman kill tied the match. A pair of kills by Carr and another from Nelson completed a 5-0 RTR run. Mayer Lutheran tied it back up on a pair of kills by Marley Martin and another from Danica Martin, but a Carr kill gave RTR back a lead that steadily grew up to 13 points before RTR took home the first set, 25-13.

"It feels so unreal that we won and even to be here and have this opportunity felt great," Borresen said. "We're so proud of ourselves and our whole team did it together."

After Friday's semifinal win, Brown had talked about how many of the players on the team had grown up watching their sisters, friends and other members of the community and how watching them compete at a high level but fall just shy was a motivating factor for some players.

"We remember them wanting it so bad and practicing all the time. It was tough. We told ourselves that we're not only doing this for us, but we're doing it for them," Hess said after Saturday's championship. "They started this program. We're going to show them that we can get this title."

"There are so many generations from RTR that have put it out there and put all that blood, sweat and tears, in a way, out there and haven't gotten to this point," Brown said, citing her own experience playing on the team until her graduation in 1998. She added that seeing the large group of alumni making the three-hour drive from Tyler and the group of 24 volleyball siblings coming together for a photo before the game was a great representation of the community's support.

RTR finishes its season with a 30-6 record after winning 10 of their last 11 matches. The one exception was a five-set loss to Minneota in their regular-season finale, which they avenged in the Section 3A Championship game.

Aside from Minneota, the six-time reigning section champion, the Knights had a loaded schedule. They played Mayer Lutheran twice during the regular season, falling 3-1 on Aug. 26 and winning 2-1 at the Class A showcase. They also defeated Canby, who was ranked No. 6 in the final Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association poll, No. 7 Fillmore Central and No. 10 Renville County West. While they weren't able to come away with wins, they also faced Class 3A Champion Marshall and Class 4A No. 3 Champlin Park.

"Every single one of our games has been a tough battle for us and these girls just stepped up all the way. With those tough games, it allows us to be battle-tested," Brown said. "I kind of, as a coach, enjoy that side of it. Without being battle-tested and being able to go through if they take a set or our backs are against the walls or any of that, it's great for these girls to know that they can handle that pressure. They could know that their season might be done as seniors and that they just have to put a little extra out there to ultimately get those wins."

Carr, Schreurs and Nelson were all named to the Class A All-Tournament team after the win. Carr and Borresen were also named to the All-State on Tuesday.