Photo by Sam Thiel Members of the Minneota volleyball team celebrate after scoring a point during their Class A semifinal match against Ada-Borup/West on Friday. The Vikings defeated the Cougars 3-1.

ST. PAUL – The Minneota volleyball team knew things weren’t going to come easy against No. 4 seed Ada-Borup/West. Not against another one-loss team and especially not with a trip to the state championship match on the line.

So when the two red-hot programs met in the Class A semifinals Friday, Minneota coach Hayley Fruin knew her team had to get out to a strong start to set the tone.

Instead, it was the Cougars who made an opening statement, claiming the first set with a spirited rally. But the Vikings stayed the course and took care of business the rest of the way, winning the next three sets en route to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-14) victory to stamp their place in the title match.

After Minneota opened the first set with a 5-2 lead, Ada-Borup/West clawed its way back into the mix and tied things at 13 before taking the lead at 17-14, which was sparked by an 11-4 run by the Cougars.

Both teams traded points over the next several possessions, and an ace by Morgan Hennen cut the deficit to within two at 21-19, but Ada-Borup/West held on late to take Set 1, 25-23.

The set loss was the first of the season for Minneota, but Fruin felt her kids did a nice job of staying together as a group and not backing down when things got tough.

“We knew going into it of course it was going to be a battle with lots of back-and-forth. I think we were ready for it, there was a little bit of adversity thrown our way but I think the kids came together and really handled it well,” Fruin said. “We haven’t lost our first set all year, so that was something different and it was nice to see them stay together throughout the whole match.”

With their backs against the wall, the Vikings were in need of a response. Minneota answered the call right from the start in the second set, building leads of 8-3 and 14-8 before a kill by Lydia Sussner pushed the Vikings’ advantage to 18-12. Minneota continued its spirited play down the stretch of Set 2, as an ace serve from Ellie Pesch and another kill from Sussner made it 23-15 and the Vikings tied the match up at 1-1 with a 25-16 victory.

The third set was tighter to start, with Minneota clinging to an 11-10 lead. But the Vikings continued to play as a unit and used a 5-1 spurt to their advantage to open a 16-11 lead. That run grew even larger as the set went on, as Minneota took a 23-15 lead on its way to a 25-16 Set 3 victory.

With one more set victory separating them from a trip to the state title match, the Vikings got another good start in Set 4 by taking the first five points of the match. Ada-Borup/West would respond and cut the deficit to one, but a 5-1 answer by the Vikings gave Minneota an 11-6 lead, and the top-ranked team never looked back. A kill by Lizzy Gillingham and a block by Sussner on back-to-back rallies made it 20-13 and Minneota reached the championship match with a 25-14 win in the fourth set.

Sussner led the way for the Vikings with 18 kills while Natalee Rolbiecki and Morgan Hennen each added 13. Abby Hennen led in digs with 27 while Morgan Hennen added 18 and Rolbiecki had 11. Morgan Kockelman led in set assists with 49.

Morgan Hennen, who helped step in place for Gillingham after she went out with an ankle injury in Set 1, said Kockelman did a great job of mixing things up with her passes and was able to get some good opportunities with her attack.

“Morgan (Kockelman) and I were just trying to run a little bit different sets and mix up the defensive blockers,” Morgan Hennen said. “I think she did a great job of pulling the block and she gave me a lot of great opportunities.”

The Vikings (34-1) are now back in the state title match for the second consecutive year. Fruin said they’re even hungrier than they were a season ago and they’re ready to prove they can come out on top.

“These girls are of course hungry, it’s what we’ve battled for all summer long, all JO season and all fall,” Fruin said. “We’ve stayed together and we’ve always kind of been on top and now it’s time to prove it. On paper we’re the No. 1 seed but let’s go out there today and play like it.”

The Vikings will face unseeded Medford, who knocked off the defending state champion Mayer Lutheran in the opener before rolling past Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in four sets in the semifinals. Today’s match will start at 1 p.m.

Minneota’s only championship came in 2006. Fruin knows a lot about that season, as she was a key member for the Vikings. Now as a second-year head coach, she wants her players to share in that same experience.

“I just want these kids to have that feeling more than anything,” Fruin said. “It’s a great feeling and they’re more than deserving of it; I’m just so proud of them and we’ve been a team all the way around and everyone knows their role. I’m hoping we come out on top and they can have that feeling.”