ROCHESTER -- Ridgewater made the championship match look like the first round.
The Lady Warriors swept Anoka-Ramsey 25-11, 25-22, 25-22 in the MCAC state championship Saturday after also winning by a sweep in the quarterfinals and in four games in the semifinals on Friday.
Ridgewater, rated No. 1 in the latest NJCAA Division III poll, will take on Anoka-Ramsey again in the two-team Region 13A tournament next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Willmar.
"Our team made a defined effort to make a statement in the first set," said Ridgewater coach Joe Sussenguth. "We were able to control play at the net very well. I think our play defensively forced them to change their offensive approach a little."
Hannah Smith paced the Lady Warriors at the net with 12 kills in 30 attacks. Macy McKay added nine kills in 17 attacks and Emily Roelike had seven kills in 24 swings. Molly Hurrle finished with 33 assists. Brianna Jacobson had four solo blocks, while Aimee Johnson led the Lady Warriors with seven digs.
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"There's no question (that) we raised our level of play this weekend and worked very hard to earn the state championship," Sussenguth said. "However, we know that we have work to do to prepare to face Anoka-Ramsey next weekend."
McKay, Hurrle, Roelike and Smith were all named to the MCAC all-Southern Division first team and also to the MCAC State all-tournament team.
Ridgewater 3, Anoka-Ramsey 0
Ridgewater (29-4) 25 25 25
Anoka-Ramsey (23-7) 11 22 22
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Ridgewater
Serving: Macy McKay 7-9-1, Abby Halter 9-10-2, Aimee Johnson 7-8-1, Molly Hurrle 14-15-1, Brandi Bodin 9-10-0, Hannah Smith 8-9-1 ... Setting (assists): Hurrle 33, Smith 1 ... Hitting: McKay 16-17-9, Hurrle 2-2-2, Emily Roelike 20-24-7, Smith 26-30-12, Maggie Zirk 11-12-4, Brianna Jacobson 14-15-5 ... Blocking (total): McKay 1, Hurrle 2, Roelike 1, Smith 3, Zirk 2, Jacobson 4 ... Digs: Chelsey Gniffke 2, McKay 4, Halter 1, Johnson 7, Hurrle 4, Roelike 4, Bodin 4, Smith 6
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Anoka-Ramsey
Statistics not available
