GREEN BAY, Wis. — Faced with an eight-point deficit at the most crucial point of the match, the top-ranked St. Croix Falls volleyball team refused to panic.

The Saints bounced back from a first-set loss and then overcame a 10-2 deficit in the third en route to a 3-1 victory over Cuba City in the Division 3 semifinals of the Wisconsin volleyball state tournament Friday.

As a result, St. Croix Falls (35-2), ranked No. 1 in Division 3 in the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association state poll, earned a title rematch Saturday with four-time defending champion Howards Grove, which swept Menasha St. Mary in the other semifinal. Howards Grove defeated the Saints 25-19, 25-20, 25-14 in last year’s final.

Howard Grove (30-4) is ranked second in the state poll, but was awarded the top seed for the Division 3 tournament.

In the opening set, the second-seeded Saints let a 22-18 lead slip away as Cuba City (30-4) rallied to win 25-23. St. Croix Falls bounced back to take the next three sets 25-14, 25-16, 25-10 to win the match.

“I think we just kind of came out a little bit timid and not to our ability,” St. Croix Falls senior Lucy Belisle said. “I think the big thing was just changing the mindset to like, go get it and play the game we know how to play.”

In the second set, St. Croix Falls ran off 12 consecutive points behind the serving of freshman Britta Olson to go in front 21-10.

“We came out a little flat in the beginning,” St. Croix Falls coach Stacie Hoff said. “But we kind of do that frequently when we’re on the road. But they battled back and really played quite hard after that. And, our serving was one of the big main keys today.”

Any momentum the Saints appeared to have at that point quickly vanished as the third-seeded Cubans jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the second set. The Saints rallied behind the serving of Ayla Schmidt that forced the Cubans into a string of receiving errors. Olson punctuated the run with a kill from the left side that put St. Croix Falls up 17-11.

“It was a punch in the stomach,” Cuba City coach Keri Lawson said. “I don’t think they tune in as much on the runs as the coaching staff does on the sidelines. We’ve been on both sides of that; a couple weeks ago we were the ones that came out of the hole. But you’ve got to protect your points.”

Cuba City answered with two quick points, but the Saints halted the potential run and pushed the lead to 23-13 behind three kills from Belisle.

“We talk a lot about how an error doesn’t carry over to the next point,” Saints senior Kelsey Cooper said of the comeback. “So, brushing it off, resetting — nobody’s going remember the point two seconds later. So, it’s just starting fresh after every single ball and competing.”

In the fourth set, St. Croix Falls opened a 9-2 lead, but Cuba City got back within 14-10. The Saints then scored the final 11 points, with Cooper getting three kills during the game-clinching run.

Cooper had 20 kills, 12 digs and two blocks, and Belisle added 16 kills. Olson had a match-high eight aces, and freshman Catherine Williams had 39 assists.

Howards Grove has won 20 straight matches this season after a 6-4 start, with one loss to Division 1 state qualifier Appleton North, and two losses to Division 2 entrants Appleton Xaiver and Pewaukee.

“I think last year we did a lot of taking in the experience and it was just a really big thing to make it to this game,” Belisle said of the championship match. “I think this year, we’re coming in with a new mentality that we’re not finished here yet.”

Related Articles

Wisconsin state girls volleyball: River Falls’ run comes to an end with loss to DSHA