Cards withstand the Storm

WILLMAR - The players on the floor were tense. It's not a look that Traci Grussing has seen the Willmar volleyball team have much this fall. So with the season in the balance, down 2-1 to fourth-seeded, Grussing needed her team to relax.

"We just kept talking about playing without fear and smiling and having a little more fun out there," Grussing said. "Everything was so tense and that's not normal for us. Finally, the longer the match went, the more they were their normal selves. I told the girls we need to be mentally tough and be ready to come back."

The mood relaxed and top-seeded Willmar played well enough to get past the Storm and into the Section 8AAA finals for the second straight year with a five-set win, 17-25, 25-17, 18-25, 25-14, 15-6.

Once the team calmed down, the passing improved and allowed the Cardinals to spread the offense out. Carly Wedel was in the mix everywhere with 37 set assists, 12 kills, three blocks, 15 digs and two aces. Sydney Olson had 10 kills, followed by nine from Grace Marti and eight via Caitlin Ogdahl.

"We passed the ball a lot better so we were actually able to run some offense instead of setting the ball inside every time," Grussing said. "Once we started getting the ball moving on offense, we were good to go."

Abby Stark anchored the back row with 22 digs, followed by 18 from Cambrie Parker.

One more hurdle exists between the Cardinals and their first trip to state: the third-seeded Moorhead Spuds. Moorhead advanced on Tuesday with a sweep of second-seeded Brainerd.

Competing at the Moorhead invitational a couple weeks ago, the Cardinals lost 2-0 to the Spuds on Oct. 20.

In last year's section final, Moorhead eked into state with a five-set win against Willmar.

"They're just a really consistent team which we tend to do better against teams that make some errors and some big plays, some errors and some big plays," Grussing said. "They just keep the ball coming back at you. We have to be mentally tough and calm. The last time we played them, we played our worst game of the year. We'll be a different team the next time we play them."

Willmar 3,

Sauk Rapids 2

Sauk Rapids (19-10) 25 17 25 14 6

Willmar (22-7) 17 25 18 25 15

Sauk Rapids

Stats not provided

Willmar

Serving (aces): Caitlin Ogdahl 5, Lydia Larson 3, Carly Wedel 2, Abby Stark 1 ... Set assists: Wedel 37, Stark 6, Grace Marti 1, Sydney Schnichels 1, Callie Slagter 1 ... Hitting (kills): Wedel 12, Sydney Olson 10, Marti 9, Ogdahl 8, Abby Teisinger 5, Sophie Kobienia 4, Stark 3... Blocking (aces): Marti 5, Wedel 3, Teasinger 2, Schnichels 1, Kobienia 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Stark 22, Cambrie Parker 18, Wedel 15, Ogdahl 11, Slagter 7

1/2: Willmar's Sydney Olson (6) and Abby Teisinger (3), along with the rest of the Cardinals celebrate after scoring a point in the fifth set of Tuesday's Section 8AAA semifinal match against Sauk Rapids at Willmar High School. Joe Brown / Tribune

2/2: Willmar's Grace Marti (11) and Caitlin Ogdahl go up for a block on Sauk Rapids' Darci Peterson during Tuesday's Section 8AA semifinal match at Willmar High School. Joe Brown / Tribune