FERGUS FALLS -- The Ridgewater volleyball team accomplished a lot in two matches of the MCAC State Tournament Friday.
The Lady Warriors (28-4) won both matches and in the process knocked out a potential region rival in winning six of seven games.
Ridgewater swept Mesabi Range 25-12, 25-19, 25-12 in the quarterfinals, then beat Southern Division rival Rochester 25-12, 15-25, 25-18, 25-16 in the semifinals, which also eliminated the Yellowjackets as a potential opponent in the Region 13A match Oct. 30.
That means that the Lady Warriors will play Anoka-Ramsey both for the state title today at 3 p.m. and in the region match.
Against Mesabi Range, the Lady Warriors served seven aces in the win.
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"We served Mesabi really tough and got them out of system quite a bit," said Ridgewater coach Joe Sussenguth.
The Lady Warriors easily shook off a second-game lost to Rochester in the semifinals to win the last two games by at least seven points each.
"This team has been slow starters, but in five out of seven sets, we were out early and we had significant leads early," Sussenguth said.
Hannah Smith's 31 kills paced the Lady Warriors Friday.
Macy McKay and Emily Roelike added 22 each. Aimee Johnson had 28 digs, followed by Roelike with 24. Molly Hurrle had 67 assists.
Quarterfinals
Ridgewater 3, Mesabi Range 0
Mesabi Range (14-12) 12 19 12
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Ridgewater 25 25 25
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Mesabi Range
Statistics not provided
Ridgewater
Serving: Chelsey Gniffke 2-2-0, Macy McKay 11-11-2, Abby Halter 6-7-2, Aimee Johnson 7-9-0, Molly Hurrle 12-13-2, Casey Edwards 1-1-0, Brandi Bodin 5-7-0, Hannah Smith 11-15-1 ... Setting: Hurrle 26 ... Hitting: McKay 17-19-12, Roelike 13-14-8, Karli Wendlandt 4-5-1, Smith 15-16-9, Brittany Van Drehle 2-3-0, Maggie Zirk 10-10-5, Brianna Jacobson 3-3-2 ... Blocking (total): Jacobson 4, Zirk 3, Roelike 3, McKay 2, Van Drehle 1 ... Digs: Gniffke 1, McKay 5, Halter 1, Johnson 8, Hurrle 4, Roelike 6, Wendlandt 1, Smith 5
Semifinals
Ridgewater 3, Rochester 1
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Rochester (23-8) 12 25 18 16
Ridgewater (28-4) 25 15 25 25
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Rochester
Statistics not provided
Ridgewater
Serving: McKay 11-12-0, Halter 8-12-0, Johnson 16-18-1, Hurrle 22-24-2, Roelike 1-1-0, Bodin 5-8-0, Smith 10-11-1 ... Setting: Hurrle 41, McKay 7 ... Hitting: McKay 17-17-9, Roelike 21-23-13, Smith 34-39-22, Van Drehle 4-4-1, Zirk 9-10-2, Jacobson 13-13-7 ... Blocking (total): Jacobson 3, Zirk 2, Smith 2, McKay 2, Van Drehle 2, Roelike 1, Hurrle 1 ... Digs: McKay 17, Johnson 20, Hurrle 10, Roelike 18, Smith 16
