Fifth-seeded New Life Academy fell behind in its Class 2A semifinal and could not recover as top-seeded Hawley swept the Eagles in straight sets Friday night at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
Fresh off a five-set thriller, New Life rolled into the match with a chance to knock out the Nuggets, the reigning Class 2A champs. Instead, Hawley took care of business 25-17, 25-15, 25-23.
Nuggets head coach Kathleen Rustad said there is “confidence” within this group, with experience from state title games in various sports.
“They’ve been in the state championship for softball, too, multiple times,” Rustad said. “So when you get into a tight (situation), whether it’s a match or a game or a set or an inning or whatever, it’s just like, all right, next play. They just know how to do it. They’ve got a lot of experience.”
The familiarity with the moment, and the opponent, helped the Nuggets. Hawley defeated New Life in two sets back on September 20 and showed off its dominance again to open the state semifinal.
Hawley began the match on a 5-0 run, setting the tone and forcing New Life into an early timeout.
Back-to-back solo blocks by eighth-grade middle blocker Grace Baur pulled the Eagles within three points partway through the opening set. Baur was a part of all three Eagles blocks in the first set, and head coach Dede Lawson said it was important to have Baur step up in the middle.
“To go against that speed of tempo and get the blocks that she did is always motivating,” Lawson said. “When our eighth grader comes up with those big plays, it just energizes everybody.”
But Nuggets seniors Sella Fleming and Annaka Johnson formed a wall of their own at the net. The duo was a part of each of Hawley’s three first-set blocks.
Fleming, Hawley’s setter, finished with a match-high 31 assists to go along with three block assists.
Johnson, after delivering defensively, finished off the first set, 25-17, with a cross-court swing that caught the Eagles’ block off guard.
A tightly contested second set saw Hawley begin to break away after consecutive service aces by junior outside hitter Katie Vetter, giving the Nuggets an 11-7 lead.
Hawley halted every New Life run and pulled away late, earning a 25-15 second-set victory. It was a position the Eagles knew all too well, trailing 2-0 in each of their first two tournament matches.
New Life battled back after a slow start to the third set and took a 20-16 advantage. But Hawley showed its resolve by racing back on a 4-0 run.
Lawson said the experience Hawley has in big situations showed late.
“They’re the returning stage champions, and they showed it when it got 20-20,” Lawson said. “They stepped up and finished off, where we just came up short in that third set.”
That momentum swing determined the match as the Nuggets roared past the Eagles late, claiming the third and final set 25-23.
Hawley will face the winner of second-seeded Albany and the third-seeded Chatfield at 3:00 p.m. Saturday in search of its repeat state championship.
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