Cleveland’s top two hitters, Taylor McCabe and Melia Stathoff, had 37 and 24 kills respectively, supporting the Clippers offense.

“Their outside attack we knew was tough,” BLHS head coach Aaron Hubin said. “We knew we had to get out there and put a good, solid double block on it. I thought we did that really well early in the first couple of sets, and they were making some mistakes and they were tipping a little bit.

“But as the match went on, our block wasn’t in the right spot. We weren’t as disciplined and they were hitting right around it and their tips were hitting the floor, and we just couldn’t pick it up after that.”

Despite the loss, coach Hubin thought the team put up a strong fight in the championship game.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart’s Lauren Hubin goes up for a hit during the Section 2A Volleyball Championship match against Cleveland Thursday at St. Peter High School.

“We knew exactly what we were getting into, and we prepared for it. The way it started, I thought this was exactly how I thought it was going to go. They just outlasted us in the end. I feel so bad for our seniors. They had a hell of a year, and it’s a tough one to lose like this.”

Lily Hubin led the Mustangs with 23 kills, while Lauren Hubin had 22 kills and Chloe Schultz had five kills.

The Mustangs took a 5-2 lead in the first set after a pair of kills by Lily Hubin, but the Clippers stormed back to take a 6-5 lead. BLHS went on a 6-1 run to take a 11-7 lead, forcing a Cleveland timeout, and extended that lead out to 20-14 on a block by Lily Hubin. Cleveland came back again, cutting the lead to 20-17, then trimmed it all the way down to 24-23 after two kills from Sathoff. But a Cleveland error ended the match with a BLHS win.

BLHS controlled Set 2 early as well, going up 9-5 on an ace by Kelsey Urlich. BLHS took that lead to 16-10 on a kill by Lily Hubin, then 24-15 on a kill by Lauren Hubin. Cleveland made a small run to cut the lead to 24-18, but another error ended the set with a Mustangs win.

BLHS got out to a 9-2 lead in Set 2 thanks to two kills and a block by Lily Hubin, but Cleveland fought all the way back to tie the game at 12 on a kill by McCabe. The Clippers continued to push to an 19-15 lead on another kill by McCabe, but BLHS responded with a 6-1 run to take a 22-20 lead, but the Clippers closed the set out with a 5-1 run to take their first win.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart’s Lily Hubin hits the ball over the net during the Section 2A Volleyball Championship match against Cleveland Thursday at St. Peter High School.

The Mustangs once again took a lead in Set 4, going up 5-2 on a kill by Callie Hable, but the Clippers came back to take a 12-9 lead. BLHS responded with a 5-0 run with an ace by Schultz to go up 14-12, but Cleveland had a 7-0 run of its own to go up 19-14. Cleveland held on for a 25-21 win, finished off by a kill by Sathoff.

Set 5 was close throughout, with Cleveland holding a 7-6 lead as BLHS called a timeout. The Mustangs went up 8-7 after a pair of kills by Lauren Hubin, and the teams continued to battle back and forth, with a kill by McCabe tying the set at 13. Lily Hubin earned a kill to go up 14-13, but a kill by McCabe and two errors gave Cleveland the set and the match.

BLHS ends its season with a 27-3 record.

“We accomplished a lot of our goals, and we set lofty goals,” coach Hubin said. “I’m proud of them for that. The season as a whole is a big success, and in the end I couldn’t be prouder of the girls.”