MADISON - Benson and MACCRAY prevailed in Section 6AA-South semifinal volleyball matches Tuesday night at Lac qui Parle Valley High School, setting up a final showdown on Thursday.
Benson topped Morris Area 22-25, 25-13, 25-9, 25-22 in one semifinal match, while MACCRAY outlasted Montevideo 25-13, 25-16, 26-28, 23-25, 15-8 in the other.
They will square off at 7 p.m. at Lac qui Parle Valley High School.
After falling in the first game, Benson rebounded to allow only 22 points in the second and third games combined before holding off the Tigers in the finale.
"After the match, the girls told me that they were very nervous before it started," said Benson coach Erick Hedman. "Once they relaxed they started to play like they have all season."
ADVERTISEMENT
Emily Jensen had 14 kills for Benson (20-7) with Nikki Linn guided the offense by piling up 26 assists. Kelly Jepma had seven kills and two ace blocks, as did Linn, Annie Ecklund and Courtney Frank.
Montevideo opened the first game with a 6-4 lead before Tory Brouwer was at the service line when MACCRAY rattled off 19 straight points. Brouwer finished the match with a match-high seven aces.
"They came out real aggressive," said Montevideo coach John Mader about the Wolverines. "Taylor Skoglund carried us through games three and four, but in game five they were too big for us at the net."
Brouwer, Hilary Groothuis and Ashley Beseman all had five ace blocks for the Wolverines. Brouwer and Groothuis also had 14 kills each while Danielle Loomis paced the offense with 38 assists.
Benson 3, Morris 1
The Tigers (8-18) got a balanced attack by getting 10 kills from Jodi Dittbenner, nine from Megan Mahoney and six from Jasmine Henrich. Dittbenner also had 17 digs.
Morris (8-18) 25 13 9 22
Benson (20-7) 22 25 25 25
ADVERTISEMENT
Morris
Serving: Heidi Wulf 5-7-0, Brittany Nelson 11-12-0, Sarah Burke 13-14-0, Dani Kloos 7-11-0, Jodi Dittbenner 16-18-2, Jasmine Henrich 6-8-0 .... Setting: Burke 83-90-28 .... Hitting: Jonna Beyer 2-2-1, Wulf 1-1-0, Nelson 18-23-3, Burke 5-7-1, Kloos 14-17-4, Megan Mahoney 15-19-9, Dittbenner 18-23-10, Henrich 19-25-6 .... Blocking (aces): Nelson 2, Kloos 1, Mahoney 1, Henrich 1 ... Digs: Dittbenner 17, Beyer 10, Wulf 1, Nelson 6, Jessica Nohl 6, Burke 7, Megan Brandt 1, Mahoney 1, Henrich 3, Kloos 1
Benson
Serving: Kelly Jepma 11-13-2, Ashley Linddahl 1-1-0, Jessica Ascheman 14-15-1, Emily Jensen 11-11-0, Annie Ecklund 20-20-2, Nikki Linn 24-24-2, Courtney Frank 7-12-2 .... Setting: Linn 86-90-26, Jensen 12-14-2, Frank 1-1-1 .... Hitting: Jepma 17-19-7, Ascheman 12-13-4, Jensen 33-40-14, Ecklund 4-5-1, Frank 6-6-4 .... Blocking (aces): Ecklund 3, Ascheman 1 ... Digs: Jenny Flaten 15, Jensen 9, Ecklund 1, Ascheman 2, Katie Raznik 1
MACCRAY 3, Montevideo 2
The Thunder Hawks got 10 kills and four ace blocks from Taylor Skoglund and seven kills and four ace blocks from Brook Moseng. Brittany Schwendemann had nine kills while Kara Nelson piled up a match-high 19 digs.
MACCRAY (16-11) 25 25 26 23 15
Montevideo (12-13) 13 16 28 25 8
ADVERTISEMENT
MACCRAY
Serving: Danielle Goeman 14-17-0, Brandy Woodring 15-16-0, Tori Brouwer 26-27-7, Hilary Groothuis 10-12-1, Hillary Aeikens 11-12-0, Danielle Loomis 21-25-2 .... Setting: Loomis 107-115-38 .... Hitting: Goeman 25-32-6, Ashley Beseman 18-21-5, Brouwer 30-35-14, Groothuis 24-30-14, Aeikens 17-21-6 .... Blocking (aces): Beseman 5, Groothuis 5, Brouwer 5, Aeikens 1 ... Digs: Destiny VanDeRiet 15, Goeman 20, Groothuis 11, Brouwer 10
Montevideo
Serving: Dani Jensen 12-13-0, Brook Moseng 19-20-2, Katherine Schwachtgen 9-9-0, Calie Roggatz 5-6-0, Kaylee Johnson 6-9-0, Kayla Skoglund 17-19-2, Rikka Boike 11-13-1, Karie Blommel 1-1-0 .... Setting: Jensen 50-51-8, Roggatz 22-24-4, Boike 55-56-12 .... Hitting: Moseng 27-30-7, Schwachtgen 12-18-2, Roggatz 2-2-1, Johnson 3-5-2, Taylor Skoglund 23-34-10, Brittany Schwendemann 28-33-9, Boike 12-13-1, Blommel 4-4-1 .... Blocking (aces): Moseng 4, Schwachtgen 3, Roggatz 1, T. Skoglund 4, Schwendemann 5, Boike 2 ... Digs: Kara Nelson 19, Moseng 12
