Photo by Sam Thiel Canby’s Gabby Harding (3) celebrates after scoring a point during their Section 3A tournament match against MACCRAY on Monday. Canby defeated MACCRAY 3-2.

MARSHALL — Both the second-seeded Canby and third-seeded MACCRAY volleyball teams knew things weren’t going to come easy during their Section 3A tournament match, especially with a trip to the semifinals on the line.

The Lancers appeared on their way to a sweep after claiming the first two sets, but a furious rally by MACCRAY helped the Wolverines win the next two frames, forcing a fifth set. Canby would recover, though, taking Set 5 to earn a thrilling 3-2 (26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 15-7) victory at the R/A Facility at Southwest Minnesota State University.

Canby coach Jenai Wright said getting those first two sets was huge for their momentum but felt they relaxed too much in the next two frames to allow MACCRAY back into the match.

“I think winning the first set was big for us, volleyball is a game of momentum and we got that early,” Wright said. “I think we got a little complacent in Set 3 and with a MACCRAY team like that you can’t be like that; [MACCRAY] served well and they just dug everything up, they’re a scrappy volleyball team.”

After the extremely tight play in the first four sets, Canby took an early lead in Set 5 at 4-1 before extending its advantage to 7-3. MACCRAY would draw to within two at 7-5, but couldn’t get any closer, as the Lancers closed the frame on an 8-2 run to seal the 15-7 victory and keep their season alive.

“Going into that fifth set, we have a lot of seniors on our team and they knew it wasn’t going to be their last night and I think they showed that in Set 5, there was no stopping our group,” Wright said. “Kudos to MACCRAY, I think they have a very strong volleyball program and with this being the 2 vs. 3 matchup, I think this is how the game should be played, it should be exciting like this because there are two strong programs.”

MACCRAY came out firing on all cylinders in the opening frame, going up 5-2 before pushing its advantage to 10-4, but Canby answered with a 7-0 run, with a pair of kills by Mackenzie Janiszeski putting the Lancers up 11-10. The two teams traded points the remainder of the frame, with Canby leading by a couple of points before three straight points by the Wolverines gave them a 19-16 lead. The Lancers would tie things up at 19-19 before a service ace by Gabby Harding made it 23-22, and after MACCRAY tied it at 24-all, a kill by Maya Wente sealed a 26-24 Set 1 victory for Canby.

Set 2 was back-and-forth to start, with the score deadlocked at 5-5 before Canby took a 9-8 advantage, but MACCRAY answered to regain the lead at 12-11. The Lancers then went on a 5-1 run to go up 16-13 before later extending its margin to 20-16 and ultimately earned a 25-21 Set 2 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Lancers held a 4-1 lead in the early stages of Set 3 before MACCRAY drew to within one at 5-4. The two sides traded points over the next several serves, including ties at 10 and 12 points, before the Wolverines went on a 7-2 run to take a 19-14 lead. Canby was able to get to within two at 22-20, but MACCRAY held on for a 25-21 victory and forced a fourth frame.

Similar to its opening frame, MACCRAY got out to a quick advantage, earning the first five points before Canby answered with the next five to tie things up at 5-5. The tight play continued over the next few serves, with a kill by Canby’s Gabby Harding giving the Lancers an 8-7 lead before MACCRAY regained the advantage at 13-12. The Lancers would then go on a 4-0 run to take a 16-13 lead, but the Wolverines had an answer with the next four points to go back up 17-16. More back-and-forth play ensued, but MACCRAY used a trio of kills to take a 23-21 lead and held on for a 25-21 Set 4 victory, setting the stage for the nail-biting finish.

No stats were available at press time.

Up next

Canby (24-7) will face the top seed in the North bracket, Minneota, in the Section 3A semifinals on Thursday at 6 p.m. at SMSU. Wright said this will be the fifth time they’ll face Minneota this year and they know it’s going to be another challenging matchup.

“We’ve seen them four times already, whether it was in the summer at tournaments or in the fall,” Wright said. “We know them, they know us, it’s just going to be a great night of volleyball and we’re ready to win.”