Fifth-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall battled through to beat fourth-seeded Sauk Rapids-Rice in four sets on Wednesday night at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, advancing to the Class 3A state volleyball semifinals.
The Raiders, a team on the climb, returned to the state tournament for the second consecutive season. After going over a decade without making it to St. Paul, the Raiders dominated their Class 3A quarterfinal against the Storm. Cretin-Derham Hall will clash with top-seeded Marshall at 9 a.m. Friday.
A sloppy Sauk Rapids-Rice first set allowed the Raiders to pull away late and claim Set 1 25-18, led offensively by four kills from senior outside hitter Taylor Williams. Raiders senior setter Caroline Banks orchestrated the offense early for Cretin-Derham Hall with a service ace and five assists in the first set.
Roaring out of the gates in Set 2, the Raiders mounted a commanding 10-2 lead, but the Storm went blow for blow with the Raiders and crawled back into the set.
A crucial 4-0 run kickstarted by a strong net presence from Sauk Rapids-Rice in the middle of second set cut Cretin-Derham Hall’s lead to 15-12 and forced head coach Erin Horn to call timeout.
Hitting errors plagued the Raiders in Set 2 and Sauk Rapids-Rice capitalized, earning multiple leads late. A big swing from Storm senior outside hitter Stella Lambaere gave them a 22-21 lead.
The Raiders overcame the Storm and rallied to take the second set 29-27 in a back-and-forth barrage. A set that featured carnage at the net fittingly ended with a vital block by Banks to seal the set.
A tight beginning to the third set saw numerous lead changes but it was the Storm, who established a 16-9 advantage midway through the set. Lambaere carved up the Raiders block to grab the 7-point edge.
The storm held firm down the stretch, withstanding two different 4-0 Raider runs to earn a Set 3 victory. A slicing swing by Storm senior outside Ruby Gustofson finished it, 25-18, and kept Sauk Rapids-Rice’s hopes of a state championship alive.
The Raiders led for the majority of Set 4, and a missile off the hand of Raiders junior middle blocker Leila Colvin swerved through the Storm’s block to send Cretin-Derham Hall through to the semifinals. A gritty fourth set tested the Raiders resolve but they answered the bell taking the final set 25-18.
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