What we Learned from Tuesday's Section Action: Balance is Key

A lot of great action took place on Tuesday night around the state. Here are some notes and highlights as all sections are quickly approaching championship matches. Team balance is an emerging theme among teams that are forging ahead. Here are some great examples of that from last night. Champlin Park may just be the team to beat in 3A. Not only do the Rebels (28-2) have a deep arsenal of offensive weapons, they have the intangibles. With great aggressiveness and precision from the service line, they scored several points by disrupting Rogers on their first contact, resulting in an ace or a free ball that often was transitioned for an emphatic kill. On the flip side, their ball control is money with high efficiency that allows that deep arsenal of arms to do their job at a high rate. They had a field day at times last night with a lot of space and room to terminate without much pressure in front of them. All of that early work allowed them to showcase just how dangerous they are in every rotation. Give credit to the entire squad and their individual success to perform their respective roles with great efficiency. And another intangible that is critical for any team is that they are a unit. There appears to be a high level of trust and support for one another to do their job and be celebrated for it, which is an as an integral part of the process in building successful team culture. This is the best time of year, not only for the opportunity to see great teams compete against one another, but simply because we get to see who has the chops to rise to the occasion and curb some of that pressure. The Rebels are doing that at a high rate right now and will next be challenged by a solid Wayzata (25-5) team that withstood a furious comeback by a determined Osseo squad last night. Its Rebels versus Trojans on Thursday night in the Section 5AAA finals. Moorhead is poised to return to the state tournament. After a convincing 3-0 win over Brainerd in last night's Section 8AAA semifinals, the Spuds are one step away from getting back to the state tournament where they advanced to the semifinals a year ago. One of the best attributes for Moorhead is that they have great balance in their production. No single athlete dominates the action or has overwhelming numbers regarding volume of opportunities or in total point scoring. That distribution of activity and wealth makes them very difficult to defend. Even if one athlete has an off night there is trust that others will make up for it. That represents a high level of confidence that this group has in one another. Last night's match is evidence of this balance as six different athletes recorded six kills or more in their 25-21, 25-13, 24-15 win. Claire Howell (S | 2020) led that distribution with 35 assists for the match. They are 20-6 overall and next will face the Willmar Cardinals, a 3-2 winner over Sauk Rapids-Rice, on Saturday night in the championship match. Robbinsdale-Armstrong is peaking at the right time! Highlighted earlier for their upset of Minneapolis Southwest, with the combined upset of the bracket's #2 overall seed afforded Armstrong a sudden life boost with a very viable opportunity in front of them to get to the section finals. And that they did. With a commanding 3-1 win (25-19, 22-25, 25-3, 25-13) over upstart Hopkins, the Falcons will next face top-seeded Edina on Saturday for all the marbles in Section 6AAA. Armstrong was led by Rylie Frye (S | 2021) and her 34 assists. She connected well with a handful of her hitters as middles Brynna Mayer (MH | 2019) and Sofie Vogel (MH | 2020) earned 10 kills apiece while Libby Matilla (OH | 2021) terminated nine kills. A huge boost for the Falcons came at the service line where they amassed 18 (Yes. 18!) aces for the match. Audrey Schumacher (Lib | 2019) was a key catalyst there with seven aces of her own to go along with 12 digs. Sustaining this balanced effort will be key for Armstrong and their ability to take advantage of this terrific position just one match victory from the state tournament. They face an unfamiliar opponent from this season in a Hornets (17-8) team that has been vulnerable at times. Managing the emotions from the excitement and the momentum they have created will be critical to their performance and creating a shot for themselves to advance one more step. A BOLD vs Mayer Lutheran matchup may be just what we need! The upcoming semifinal match between #1 seed BOLD (24-2) and #4 seed Mayer Lutheran may be the match we wanted but did not really know we were looking for. Ranked at #7 and #3 respectively in class 1A, both teams have cruised through their early round matches without dropping a set. If you are a fan of high flying, high reaching, and hard hitting offense you are in for a treat as this contest will feature BOLD's Makenna Steffel (OH | 2019) and Mayer Lutheran's Olivia Tjernagel (MH | 2020), two athletes that have been providing a variety of highlights all season long. Steffel, a Northern State commit, contributes in a variety of ways both offensively and defensively. But it is in her athleticism as she attacks the ball that is what is most memorable as she can get their fast and elevate with the ball coming across the net before you know it. Makayla Snow (S | 2020) is a tall, athletic, and offensive-minded setter that can disrupt flow for an opponent's defense very easily. She will be a big factor as well and certainly has the ability to call her own number and produce double-digit kills of her own. If BOLD can get the support they need for Steffel on offense they have a shot here. That means Ashley Trongard (MH | 2020) and Morgan Schmitz (OH | 2019) need to be involved. When they have been BOLD has been able to develop the offensive balance they need. For the Crusaders, they have some solid support around their veteran Tjernagel, a Northern Iowa commit, and that starts with Claudia Stahlke (MH | 2020), a 6'2 force from pin to pin that can do some damage when given her opportunities in the front row. The middle tandem may create some problems for the Warriors as there will be relentless speed and heat coming at them if Mayer Lutheran can sustain their ball control to do so. This will be a fun one folks. As the stars for these teams will certainly shine as they have all season, it will be in the supporting cast that will make all the difference and provide the balance to carry their team forward.