“We really had to focus on our defense,” BLHS setter Elizabeth Ovitt said. “Knowing that we could trust our communication to play good and play through the problems that we had to face.”

BLHS had a strong game at the nets, putting up a tough block on St. Mary’s.

“I thought when we had our blocking disciplined and on-point, that helped us pull away and it seemed to be a major part of our win,” BLHS head coach Aaron Hubin said.

St. Mary’s head coach Karri Hoffmann said the Knights had a hard time containing the Mustangs offense as well.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Reese Hoffman goes up for a hit during a Section 2A Volleyball Semifinals match against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Tuesday at St. Peter High School.

“Their two hitters [Lily Hubin and Lauren Hubin] were really strong,” she said. “They just know where to place the ball and our defense couldn’t keep up with knowing where they were going to put the ball.”

“They beat us a lot on the tip tonight too,” St. Mary’s assistant coach George Schwint said. “They tipped over our block and we weren’t ready for it. We didn’t get there in time, and they scored a lot of points that way too, which is a testament to them, they played really well.”

The Mustangs (27-2) now advance to play No. 2 Cleveland in the section championship at 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Peter High School.

“This is our goal, to be at that game on Thursday night,” coach Hubin said. “We’re ready to come out and give Cleveland everything we’ve got, and I think we have a really good chance.”

Morgan Mathiowetz led the Knights with 22 kills and 15 digs, while Reese Hoffmann, Ella Pollard and Kailey Nelson each had seven kills. Josie Helget had 42 set assists and 15 digs, while Natalie Fischer had 13 digs.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart’s Lauren Hubin hits the ball over the net during a Section 2A Volleyball Semifinals match against Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s Tuesday at St. Peter High School.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 4-1 lead on a kill by Lily Hubin, but St. Mary’s tied it up again at 4 after three BLHS errors. The teams went back and forth for several points, and while BLHS went on a quick 3-0 run with help from kills by Schultz and Lily Hubin to take a 14-10 lead, St. Mary’s came back with a 4-0 lead to tie it again at 14. However, BLHS closed out the set with a decisive 11-0 run, with Callie Hable and Lily Hubin each earning two kills during the stretch.

Set 2 was tight early, with St. Mary’s taking a 7-5 lead on an ace by Fischer to force a BLHS timeout. The Mustangs went on a 3-0 run to take a 9-8 lead on a block by Schultz, but St. Mary’s responded with a 4-0 run to go up 12-9, with another ace by Fischer leading the run. The teams traded points for several serves, and a kill by Mathiowetz put the Knights up 24-18 before BLHS put up a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 24-21. However, a kill by Reese Hoffmann closed out the set with a Knights win.

BLHS had the early advantage in Set 3, taking a 9-5 lead on a kill by Lauren Hubin.

St. Mary’s called a timeout, and the teams went back and forth for the entire mid period of the set, with St. Mary’s finally cutting down the lead to 17-15 on a kill by Pollard. BLHS kept hold of the lead, however, with a pair of kills by Lily Hubin sealing the 25-21 win for the Mustangs.

“We knew we didn’t have to rely on their mistakes,” Ovitt said. “After they were giving us easy points, they were hitting hard and coming back and being more scrappy, so we knew we had to focus on our defense and our communication. Just relying on each other and putting the ball down more.”

The Knights went up 7-4 to start the fourth set, but a 5-0 BLHS run led by two kills and a block by Lauren Hubin put the Mustangs up 9-7. The teams battled in the middle of the set, but once again BLHS pulled away late, with two kills by Lauren Hubin leading the 5-1 run by the Mustangs to come away with the 25-16 win.

St. Mary’s ends its season with a 21-8 record.

“It’s a hard year for us [to end],” coach Hoffmann said. “These five seniors [Nelson, Helget, Pollard, Reese Hoffmann and Fischer] have been great role models. I’ve been coaching them since seventh grade, so I know them very well, so it’s very hard to lose those five girls. They’re just a great attribute to our squad, and

“I think that’s a lot of how we won is those cohesive moments with those five playing together. Of course you throw in Morgan, Audra [Hoffmann], Brynne [Ibberson], those girls that helped to make it better too. But the leadership on their part was really key to our game.”