Apple Valley rolled into the postseason with the opposite of momentum.
The Eagles lost seven of their final 11 regular-season matches.
“That can definitely set some teams back,” said Apple Valley junior outside hitter Sophia Cowan, “but we know who we are.”
The Eagles still made the state tournament, despite their sputtering finish, and were seeded seventh heading into the Class 4A state tournament. No matter. Coaches agreed Seeds No. 2-7 can all beat one another in this year’s Class 4A tournament.
That came to fruition Wednesday, as the Eagles upset second-seeded East Ridge in a five-set quarterfinal thriller in St. Paul.
The Eagles (19-9) will next face third-seeded Prior Lake in the semis at 11 a.m. Thursday. Apple Valley was swept by Prior Lake on Oct. 9, part of that difficult season-closing stretch.
Apple Valley claimed the first set Wednesday to announce its presence. But East Ridge responded by winning the second set and then the third, with the latter coming in comeback fashion.
Apple Valley led the third set 23-21, but the Raptors closed strong to take it 27-25. At that point, East Ridge appeared to have seized control. That’s usually enough to stunt any upset bid.
But Apple Valley reached state a year prior. And coach Hannah Specktor preached consistency ahead of Wednesday’s match.
“When we’re a little bit more calm and steady, we’re controlled and make good decisions,” she said of her pregame message. “Just making sure everybody is taking a breath, calming down and staying the same way, mentality-wise, whether we’re up or down.”
And when they got down, they rallied back. The Eagles dominated the fourth set 25-10 and controlled the fifth from start to finish to complete the upset.
Cowan led the Eagles with a whopping 26 kills — including the match clincher — while Ginny Gores added 17 of her own. Apple Valley went to Cowan again and again throughout the match, and the star hitter never seemed to tire.
“You don’t really think about it. You don’t think about yourself and how you’re hurting,” Cowan said. “You’re focused on your team and what can I do for my team. … Just giving everything.”
Of course, preparation helps in those instances.
“She’s literally in the weight room 365 days a year,” Specktor said.
Apple Valley beat East Ridge 2-1 in the Eagle Invitational in mid-September. Players noted that added confidence ahead of Wednesday’s match. But it’s also simply a team that loves and believes in one another.
Gores said the Eagles were “never doubting ourselves.”
It was a classic duel between the two teams, one in which East Ridge simply found itself on the wrong side of. Lauren Bunge had 15 kills for the Raptors (22-8), while Peyton Dornfeld added 14.
East Ridge rallied from down two sets to one to edge Eagan in its section final to reach this point. The Raptors were on the other side of the coin Wednesday.
“I just felt that they executed better,” Raptors coach Steve Anderson said of Apple Valley. “They were the more confident team, the more aggressive team and we got rattled and couldn’t get out of it.”
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