Round 1 of Lakeville South’s state title defense went rather smoothly in Wednesday’s Class 4A quarterfinals, as the top-seeded champs knocked out eighth-seeded Sartell in straight sets.

The real challenge for the Cougars was getting back to the arena.

Punching that ticket required a thrilling, five-set victory over Lakeville North in the Section 1 final over the weekend.

That, Lakeville South coach Stephen Willingham noted, was the Cougars’ first five-set match of the season.

“To be honest, it was kind of nice to … have that pressure and have to win it,” he said. “We look at it like seasoning for our team.”

The Cougars were certainly sharp in the quarters, playing a low-mistake brand of volleyball that serves teams well under the bright lights. That doesn’t mean the defending champs weren’t nervous, even if they didn’t look it.

Senior outside hitter Romi Chlebecek, who tallied a game-high 18 kills, said everyone made at least a mistake early amid what she called a “frantic” start. But what impressed her was how well everyone shook any errors off.

That’s at least in part to the support junior outside hitter Elleora Utecht said the Cougars (29-3) provide to one another.

“We look at each other and we’re like, ‘I know you have the next point,’” said Utecht, who recorded 12 kills Wednesday. “I think that was just really big to move on from those mistakes and continue to do what we know how to do.”

Which is especially vital now. No one is under more pressure than the defending champs, who take the floor each time out with a massive target on their backs. That pressure reaches an all-time high in the postseason.

“And there’s a lot more people watching and you want to do well, obviously, but mistakes are just part of the match,” Utecht said. “And when we know we can look to each other in the huddle in the middle of the match and just relax and trust that we’ve got the next point. It makes all the difference.”

The Cougars will meet fourth-seeded Roseville in Thursday’s semifinals at 9 a.m.

Centennial falls in straight sets

Centennial went down in straight sets Wednesday against third-seeded Prior Lake.

The Cougars pushed the Lakers, holding a 20-17 lead in the first set before dropping it, 25-23. The second set went extra points before Prior Lake won that, 26-24.

Prior Lake had three players with double-digit kills, led by 12 from Dylan Raveling.

Centennial’s Elena Hoecke, who won the Ms. Baden award as the state’s player of the year, had 10 kills for the Cougars.