Photos by Samantha Davis: Marshall's Kezlyn Pinckney (10), Avery Fahl (1), Reese Drake (2) and Halle DeVos (8) celebrate after winning match point in the final set against Cretin-Derham Hall Friday morning in the state semifinals to secure a spot in Saturday's state championship. The Tigers swept the Raiders at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Below: Avery Fahl goes up for a hit in the state semifinals on Friday. Below: Kezlyn Pinckney dives for a dig. Below: Reese Drake goes up for a hit in the third set.

ST. PAUL — The top-seeded and top-ranked Marshall volleyball team is once again returning to the Class AAA state championship match for the fifth-straight season, and are a win away from being the first volleyball program in Minnesota to claim double-digit state titles, and their fourth in the last five years. The Tigers swept No. 5 Cretin-Derham Hall in the semifinals Friday morning at Grand Casino Arena in sets of 25-15, 25-16 and 25-14.

“We’ve centered our season around one word: ‘Dedicated.’ I feel like, obviously we had a chip on our shoulder after that loss last season [in the state final to Alexandria], but we got together in the summer and we just decided, ‘No, this is going to be a special season,'” Marshall senior setter Brooke Gillingham said. “We’re going to be dedicated to each other, on the court, off the court … Keep your eye on the prize and be dedicated to your teammates.”

Marshall was strong from all areas of the court, powered by Avery Fahl’s triple-double performance of 10 kills, on a .333 hitting percentage, 12 assists and 14 digs. Reese Drake had a team-high 16 kills and 15 digs, while Julia Fahl followed with 10 kills and nine digs. Gillingham led with 23 set assists.

Overall, the Tigers finished with a .278 hitting percentage and held CDH to a .042 mark. Marshall’s defense also shined, not allowing any Raiders to reach double-digit kills with its game-high 63 digs.

“We poured over a ton of film watching them [CDH] … The more we watched them, the more we were impressed with the talent that they have everywhere. We knew it was going to be a tough match … I thought our kids were just able to maintain intensity all the way through,” Marshall head coach Dan Westby said. “In most matches, there tends to be a little bit of a lull, and I just felt like our kids were dialed in all the way through … Hard fought victory, and we feel fortunate to be back in the final.”

This year is the Raiders’ 9th state tournament appearance, who also competed last year for the first time since 2011. Although CDH also holds a lot of experience with nine seniors, the Tigers’ group of seniors have been to state now each of their four years, with bringing home titles their first two years.

Marshall controlled the match from the jump, and never lost sight of its lead except briefly to begin the final set. The Tigers held CDH to a .116 hitting percentage in the opening set to their .244 mark, which only became a larger margin as the game went on. Drake and Avery Fahl led the team with six and four kills, respectively, with both tallying six digs to help set the tone promptly.

Kills from Drake and Avery Fahl gave Marshall the first points of the day, along with a Drake service ace and kill from Julia Fahl to build a quick 7-1 edge to force a Raiders’ timeout.

“I think we just always like to start out strong, and not having a slow start,” Drake said. “We really emphasize, before going out there, to make sure we make a statement and start off strong.”

With a 12-5 lead after a string of CDH errors, the Raiders took the next 3 points straight to cut into a 12-8 deficit, yet back-to-back kills from Drake, Avery and Julia Fahl put the Tigers back ahead comfortably, 16-9, showing no sign of nerves.

Marshall eventually put the set away behind a trio of Drake kills, along with a CDH hitting error and a kill from Halle DeVos.

CDH was able to breakaway on a few runs throughout the second and third sets, but Marshall was able to halt any further Raiders’ momentum from progressing further each time.

“They [Marshall] run a really fast offense … On top of that, they’re running multiple patterns in every rotation,” CDH head coach Erin Horn said. “They’re scrappy. They get so many balls up … They’re relentless. It’s like we’re constantly going. Our girls kept coming off the court, and they’re like, ‘I’m exhausted.’ It’s a lot of work. They’re just a solid team, and it’s very clear that they have a great team chemistry.”

The second set began with a 3-3 tie, yet kills from Gillinghim, Avery Fahl and Halle DeVos, paired with another block from Avery and Julia Fahl put the Tigers ahead 8-3.

The Raiders returned the favor behind 3 consecutive points, following a pair of Marshall hitting errors and a bad set, but another kill from DeVos and Nora Holmgren kept the Tigers in front, up 12-6.

Marshall again took off from there powered behind back-to-back kills from Drake, and took a 2-0 lead on the day after a block from Avery Fahl and Laurel Ryks, a Julia Fahl kill and an ace from Drake for match point.

Avery Fahl led Marshall with three blocks, two assisted, while CDH’s Caroline Banks had a team-high four assisted blocks.

The final set went point-for-point up to an 8-8 tie after CDH started with a 4-1 lead, but Marshall ultimately pulled away to a 19-10 advantage after embarking on a 9-0 run to essentially put the dagger on the win. Kills from Drake, Julia and Avery Fahl, along with a continuous strong effort in the back row from Drake, Kezlyn and Kyah Pinckney, attributed to the Tigers’ run.

“That’s tough to overcome for anybody. The other thing we had talked about over the course of the match, is there were a number of great defensive plays, really, by both teams,” Westby said. “I congratulated their libero [Cecilia Klein] when we went through the line, and I said, ‘Boy, you really gave us fits over there,’ and she really did. But then again, I thought [so did] our kids, including our libero [Kezlyn Pinckney, who finished with 11 digs]. It really was a fun defensive match to watch.”

A pair of kills from both Julia Fahl and Drake ended the match, officially handing Marshall a ticket back to the championship floor.

Marshall opened up tournament play with a controlled sweep over No. 8 Big Lake, in which both Drake and Avery Fahl recorded double-doubles as well.

“There’s certainly been our times when we haven’t been at peak performance, but overall, this team has really been good … It’s really been steady all the way through. I thought today, like I said, it’s really difficult throughout the course of a match to keep your play at this level,” Westby said. “As we were walking down here, I had a couple people not associated with either team just say, ‘I love watching the Marshall team play,’ so it’s quite a compliment.'”

CDH advanced to the semifinals after upsetting No. 4 Sauk Rapids-Rice in four sets, led by Banks’ 15-kill, 15-assist, 13-dig triple-double and Caroline Anetipa’s 22 digs and 11 kills.

“That’s one of the things that I hoped for when I came into the program. I think we won one match in two years when I took over in 2022, and it was a rough first couple years with the program. Obviously last year, we fought and battled in our section final and beat Visitation and got here,” Horn said. “This year … It was like, ‘OK, now we’re here. We belong here, and we’re going to show that we belong here. I think we came out and did that against Sauk Rapids on Wednesday, and although things didn’t go exactly our way today, I was just so, so proud of these ladies and the way that they fought and battled.”

Tight-knit Tigers

In repetition of last year, the Marshall football team also made the early trek Friday morning from Blaine to St. Paul to be in attendance for the volleyball team, after defeating Totino-Grace Thursday night in the Class AAAA state quarterfinals.

The volleyball team also was in attendance Thursday night in Blaine to support the football team, who will compete in next week’s semifinals at US Bank Stadium.

Up Next

Marshall moves to 32-2 on the season, and will look to bring home its 10th state championship tomorrow. The Tigers will face the winner of No. 2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s School and No. 3 Stewartville, who play Friday afternoon.

“I think there were a few times where we were down a little bit in this match, and I think it was really important that we just stayed calm and cool, and it didn’t phase us as much. We just pulled together,” Gillingham said. “In those championship matches, like Coach Westby told us before the tournament, there’s going to be times where you are down, and you have to handle that well. I think this match displayed that well for us, and now we know what we need to do going into the next one.”

The championship match will take place at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul at 6:30 p.m.

Tomorrow will also mark the final time Marshall’s strong group of seniors will play in a Tigers’ uniform, looking to end their stellar careers on a high note. The team’s seniors include Avery Fahl, Drake, Gillingham, Kyah Pinckney, Makia Radtke, DeVos, Bryn Webb and Trinity Brownlee.

“I think we’re just really excited to keep having this opportunity. It’s really a privilege to move on to the next round,” Gillingham said. “You celebrate, it’s kind of sad knowing it’s our last game, but it is such a privilege to be back in that spot. We’re just excited to play.”