Photo by Sam Thiel Members of the Marshall volleyball team celebrate after winning the Class AAA championship on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center. Marshall defeated Kasson-Mantorville 3-0.

ST. PAUL — Multiple times throughout the season, the Marshall volleyball team has shown its resiliency and teamwork to come away with a win. When top-seeded Marshall found itself trailing late in the first set of the Class AAA championship match against second-seeded Kasson-Mantorville, MHS had to rely on its grit and determination one more time.

Marshall battled back to win the opening set before taking the final two frames to earn a 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-16) victory to win the Class AAA championship on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

Marshall coach Dan Westby said both teams competed really hard, especially in the first set when the momentum was in the KoMets’ favor.

“Overall, it was a great effort by both teams. It could have easily been different if we lost the first set. The best thing was after the first set, assistant coach Alex Boddy said, ‘It’s over and we won.’,” Westby said. “That really was true. It took us awhile to get going.”

Westby added their resiliency from the first frame shined again in the middle part of the third set when the score was deadlocked at 16-all before Marshall earned nine straight points to close the match.

“We had a nice lead in both Sets 2 and 3 and to Kasson’s credit they came back, but this group has been pretty resilient all year, they’ve been down before and come back,” Westby said. “It’s hard to explain, I always like to make the comment they have the secret sauce. If I ever figure out what that is, we’ll use it over and over. But this group has the secret sauce and because of that, there was never a doubt in their minds that they were going to get this done.”

MHS ends its season with an overall record of 33-2. This is Marshall’s seventh state championship and first since 2013.

Senior Taylor Ariasola said it’s a unique feeling to end the season with a championship.

“It’s kind of crazy; it feels weird,” Ariasola said. “It’s over, but it’s nice. We definitely played hard.”

Kasson-Mantorville took an early lead in Set 1, going up 4-1 and later 7-3 before a pair of kills from Tessa Gannott drew Marshall to within two at 9-7. Both teams traded points over the next several serves, with another kill by Gannott keeping the deficit at two at 16-14 before K-M went on a 5-1 run to take a 21-15 lead. MHS wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, as a kill by Ariasola and a block from Brooke Andries trimmed the deficit to one at 21-20 before back-to-back kills from Gannott gave Marshall a 25-24 lead. K-M would tie things at 25-25, but Marshall took the final two points to win Set 1, 27-25.

Senior Megan Wegner said they definitely felt some nerves, but credited Gannott for taking control and helping them earn a 1-0 lead.

“During that first set, I know a lot of us were getting nervous, but Tessa came out and pushed really hard,” Wegner said. “She really gave us that first set.”

Set 2 saw MHS get out to a strong start, as a kill by Randi Wendorff made it 4-1 before a pair of K-M attack errors pushed Marshall’s advantage to 9-4. Marshall continued to create separation, with a service ace by Ariasola giving MHS a 15-6 lead but a K-M run drew the KoMets to within three at 15-12. Marshall had an answer, though, building a five-point lead at 21-16 before K-M drew to within two at 24-22, but MHS got the final point to take Set 2, 25-22 and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was tight in the early stages, with both teams going on 4-0 runs before a Leah Jones kill made it 8-5. The score would be tied at 10-10 before Marshall went on a 6-1 run to take a 16-11 lead, but K-M went on a 5-0 run to tie it again at 16. MHS called timeout, and answered with a winning 9-0 run.

Gannott led Marshall with 15 kills while Jones and Ariasola each added eight and Andries had five. Caitlyn Christenson led in digs with 17 while Cassie Hoover added 14 and Maysa Gillingham led in set assists with 31.

Saluting the seniors

Marshall graduates six seniors, including Hoover, Gillingham, Gannott, Ashleigh Steinbach, Wegner and Ariasola.

Marshall trio earns tournament honor

The Class AAA All-Tournament team was named on Saturday, with Christenson, Gillingham and Gannott being named to the team.

Marshall 3, Kasson-Mantorville 0

Kasson-Mantorville 25 22 16

Marshall 27 25 25

Kills: Marshall (Gannott 15; Jones, Ariasola 8; Andries 5; Wendorff 3; Gillingham 1).

Digs: Marshall (Christenson 17; Hoover 14).

Set Assists: Marshall (Gillingham 31).

Serving (aces): Marshall (Hoover 18-19 (1); Gillingham 11-12 (1); Ariasola 18-20 (3)).