Volleyball: NLS comes oh so close – West Central Tribune

ST. PAUL – New London-Spicer was ready for the long haul in the opening round of the Class AA state volleyball quarterfinals.

It looked like it would be a short state opener. Top-seeded Albany won the first set 25-12 and led 22-15 in the second set.

“I think a few of them were feeling a little down,” Wildcats head coach Tina Peterson said. “But we kept encouraging them and telling them to take their nerves out, relax and play their game.

“We kept reminding them that this would be the case. We knew it was going to be tough for Albany to come out of it. But we kept reminding them that this is what we have been preparing for.”

NLS relaxed, regrouped and stormed back to win the second set.

The rest of the way was a dogfight between the Wildcats and Huskies. The final three sets required extra points to determine a winner.

Ultimately, Albany prevailed with a four-set victory at the Xcel Energy Center, 25-12, 24-26, 29-27, 26-24.

“New London definitely brought their A-game,” Huskies head coach Brian Hines said.

Albany will face fourth-seeded Southwest Christian in the semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. The Stars defeated fifth seed Annandale in three sets.

The Wildcats will face the Cardinals in the consolation semifinals at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday at 5 p.m.

Three NLS seniors – Piper Barney, Ava Carlson and Abby Knudsen – sat with their heads held high at the post-game press conference. They were able to push the top-seeded team in the race to the brink after losing to the Huskies in three sets during the regular season.

“In a one-on-eight, it’s a huge testament to my girls, I think,” Peterson said. “No less for Albany, they are a great team and we knew going into the game we told our girls that they are definitely not number eight. They still have things to prove this weekend and they are ready.”

The comeback started in earnest with a seven-point run that saw the Wildcats go from trailing 22-15 in the second set to tie at 22. The run ended with a tip from Katelyn Delzer and a block from Barney. “My teammates and I had to figure out what to do and put everything on the field with our passing, blocking and setting, and just figure out how to pick a side,” Barney said.

Albany had the point set, 24-22, before NLS won the final four points. The final three points came courtesy of a Hannah Nieland ace serve, a Barney block and a Nieland ace.

Nieland, a senior setter, had 23 set assists, three ace serves and a pair of kills.

“She knows how to keep the defense on its toes and guess where she’s going to put the ball,” Carlson said of Nieland. “That helps a lot in delaying blocking and being more open to swinging.”

Albany has three Class AA All-State players in outside hitter Hannah Klein, senior setter Ellery Ehresmann and junior middle hitter Brynn Panek. The NLS defense found a way to slow down the Huskies’ high-powered offense. The Wildcats’ front row featured a total of seven blocks. Carlson led the way with three (two solo).

“We knew Hannah is a big hitter and we had to slow her down,” Carlson said. “I would cheat a little that way and try to get there a little faster. And their right side hitter (Kelsey Lobitz) also hit a fastball, and she’s left-handed. We had to cheat there when she was in the front row.

If NLS couldn’t come up with a block, the back row was solid in clearing duty. Libero Grayce Reigstad had 16 digs. Ayla Caskey followed that with 13 digs.

“They have multiple big hitters and a fast attack, so you can’t always read where they’re going,” said Knudsen, who had six digs. “You think you know where it’s going to land, but it comes so quickly. … It was difficult, but with the help of our block we were able to pick up the balls for the most part.”

NLS reached the set point three times in the third set. And every time, Albany managed to tie the game. The Huskies ultimately won the third set of the marathon after a kill from Klein. The South Dakota State University recruit had a match-high 33 kills on a .400 hitting percentage. She also had 13 digs.

“I’m always willing to go the extra mile and I always want to go the extra mile,” Klein said. “That’s a mentality that a lot of players on our team have. … We have a lot of players who know what they are doing on the field and all these girls are ready to step up when we need them.

NLS was able to reach a set point again in the fourth. A Delzer kill put the Wildcats up 24-23. Delzer led the Wildcats with 11 kills.

Wanting to shut down the scrappy Wildcats for good, the Huskies kept feeding the ball to Klein. She scored the last three points of the game. Klein twisted her ankle during a game-ending tip. She then shrugged off the injury. Claiming victory for her team helped.

“You tell that girl where to hit and she hits it,” said Ava Hines, Albany’s senior defensive specialist. “Even if she makes a mistake, she just comes back to the group and says, ‘That’s me.’ I understand that.’ We have so much confidence in her. She’s a great player, but she’s also a great teammate.”

Like Albany, the consolation semifinal is a regular-season rematch between NLS and Annandale. The Cardinals won the Wright County Conference tilt in five sets on September 26.

“I think we’re hungry for revenge,” Knudsen said, followed by a burst of laughter from Barney and Carlson. “We are happy to show them what team we are now.”

Peterson added: “These girls have been working hard and have been very focused in training over the past month and a half. … It’s been a great season with these girls and they’re ready to go to Annandale and show what they’ve got one more time.”