Photo by Jake McNeill: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton outside hitter Abby Carr (14) reacts while teammates (left to right) Tatum Hess, Laken Baartman, Gabi Borresen and Ally Nelson look on during the Knights’ 3-0 win over Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda in the 3A South finals at Southwest Minnesota State University on Thursday night.

MARSHALL — The top-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights swept No. 2 Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda in the Section 3A South subsection championship match on Thursday night to set up a section title rematch against Minneota.

“We’re very excited to play them on Saturday… I think the last game [against Minneota] helped us tremendously when we played them and it went five sets,” RTR head coach Daynica Brown said. “I think having that Adrian game and how bittersweet that could have been — it easily could have went the other direction because of how volleyball momentum swings can happen — they saw how an end of the season potentially could happen and these girls aren’t ready. I’ve got a lot of seniors, they’re not ready to be done. So they’re going to bring it all on Saturday.”

Neither team was able to gain any traction in the first half of the first set. By the time the Coyotes built up a 14-13 lead, neither team had led by more than a point or two at any given time. From there, however, the Knights put everything together. They rattled off a 7-1 run to take control of the set with a 20-15 lead. HLOF tried to slow the Knights’ momentum with timeouts, but it was no use; RTR held on for a 25-20 lead to claim the first set.

Ally Nelson was particularly effective in the first set. Setter Gabi Borresen was consistently able to set up Nelson with good looks at the net that led to kills or at least quality shots. Nelson finished the night with nine kills and tied Abby Carr with a team-high four blocks. Borresen had 23 set assists.

Part of RTR’s consistent success over the last two years has been in their versatility of offensive options. In the second set, senior outside hitter Abby Carr stepped up and helped the Knights pull away early. Whether it was her hitting or her serving, she had everything going in the frame. She went on to finish the match with a team-high 10 kills and tied Avery Schreurs with a team-high three aces.

“I think, in between the first and the second set, we talked about how they had a hole in the middle. So we were really trying to focus on doing that,” Carr said. “We were really just trying to focus on hitting any shot. Down the line, cross, any kind of shot.”

In addition to Carr and Nelson’s front-row play, Tatum Hess also was efficient with seven kills in the match. Dilyn Werkman and Camry Swanson were also able to step up and swing when needed, really giving the Knights a tough group of players to defend.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton middle blocker Ally Nelson (16) tips the ball over the net during the Knights’ win over Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda in the 3A South championship match at Southwest Minnesota State University on Thursday night.

“It’s huge to have versatility because nobody can just camp on one hitter,” Brown said. “That’s really nice because it creates holes in the block and it’s nice to see that all our hitters can step it up in the playoffs and just go after it.”

The Knights started the second set on a 6-0 run and led 10-1 before the Coyotes started to pull in closer. HLOF’s blockers started to alter shots and, after they trimmed the deficit to five points, RTR called a timeout.

The Coyotes persisted after the huddle, cutting the Knights’ lead to 15-13. Still, RTR was able to pull right back away with a 6-1 run of their own before eventually winning the set 25-18.

Werkman opened the third set for the Knights with a block that sent the RTR side of the crowd into a frenzy. The Coyotes responded with a point of their own, but RTR seemed to have all momentum as they quickly built a 10-4 lead. HLOF kept the set close but never within striking distance as RTR went on to win 25-18.

Brown attributed the difference between the first set and second set to the Knights’ ability to clean up errors. While the Knights were sometimes a step slow on serve receives or pushing over the block, they were crisp and ready for the rest of the match.

“I think what helps us out is playing smarter, not harder,” Brown said. “I think the girls were swinging hard so they would swing out of balance or something, where instead they found open holes a lot more and it was great seeing that side of it.”

Hess led the RTR backline with 18 digs and Avery Schreurs had another 16. Carr also contributed nine digs for the Knights.

RTR’s win over HLOF comes two days after they took down Adrian-Ellsworth in the subsection semifinals at Worthington. While Thursday’s night was a quick sweep, the knights had to battle back from a 2-1 deficit for a five-set win on Tuesday.

“I told the girls that we need it [a sweep] because we’re going to have a battle on Saturday,” Brown said. “We need to come and play aggressive from the start and get it done as quick as we can and conserve some energy so that we can go and play on Saturday.”

Brown gave credit to HLOF for being a quality opponent that played a good game, but added that she was happy to see her team put the pieces together and come out on top.

The Knights will return to SMSU to face off against Minneota for the Section 3A Championship at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two top-seeded teams have gone a full five sets in each of their last three best-of-five matchups, with the Vikings coming on top in all three. Minneota also swept the Vikings 2-0 in the Class A Showcase this season while the Knights won the teams’ matchup at the tournament 2-1 in 2022.

“We’re just trying to stay really positive and have really good thoughts,” Carr said on the team’s approach to the matchup. “Trying to stay away from those negative thoughts, lean on each other, work with each other, work with our team to become the best players that we can be.”