Photo by Samantha Davis. Minneota celebrates after winning match point during the second set after trailing by 7 points against No. 6 Fillmore Central in the Class A state semifinals Friday evening at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Vikings won in four sets and advance to the championship game.

ST. PAUL — With nine lead changes and 24 occurrences of a tied score in a match of fixing errors and going on runs, the No. 2 Minneota volleyball team finds itself going back to the Class A state championship game after defeating sixth-seed Fillmore Central 3-1 Friday afternoon in sets of 21-25, 26-24, 25-15 and 26-24.

“I’m just so proud of these kids, because there were so many times that I think they could have thrown in the towel and just said, ‘It’s not our year,'” Minneota head coach Hayley Fruin said. “But, they kept fighting every single day and finding a way to get better. That’s what makes this moment so cool and so special.”

As the 2022 state champions and 2021 runners-up, Minneota has made its statement this time around after not making the trip to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul last November, starting with a sweep over No. 7 Ely in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The Falcons fought hard to earn a spot in the semifinals, after upsetting the second-seeded New Life Academy of Woodbury in the quarterfinals in five sets.

Overall, Minneota had a .155 hitting percentage and 95 team digs to separate the game difference to Fillmore’s .138 mark and 86 digs.

“A lot of credit to Fillmore, gosh they are a good team,” Fruin said. “They serve so aggressively, they’re going for aces at all times … That was getting us on our heels, and we were just kind of making some silly mistakes.”

Eden Meagher led all players with 15 kills and five blocks behind her 13 digs. Elivia Faris followed with nine kills, while Jaylyn Coequyt and Sarah Gruenes added eight more apiece.

Both teams immediately brought the intensity at the start of set one, going back and forth and staying within reach.

Minneota struggled with errors in the first, which gave the Falcons a handful of free points. Between serving, attacking and ball handling, the Vikings had 14 errors, eight from the service line, compared to Fillmore’s four total.

“A lot of us talked in the huddle, [about] just playing as a team and regrouping after a mistake,” Faris said. “They’re a great serving team, so you have to give them credit. You just have to go out there and just play your game.”

At a tied score of 15, Fillmore got three straight points and forced a Minneota timeout.

The Falcons stayed in control and climbed to a 24-21 advantage after two kills and a Minneota attacking error, and got match point from a ball handling error.

In a thrilling second set, Minneota was able to even the series out 1-1 after overcoming a 7-point deficit and ending the set on a 10-1 run.

Minneota worked to fix the early mistakes and regroup to combat the nerves to begin the second set.

The Vikings bridged a 4-point lead 10-6 after going on a 5-0 run with a kill from Gruenes, two Fillmore attacking errors and a pair of servicing aces from Libby Sussner.

“It’s all about putting the pressure on them,” Fruin said. “Even when you’re still losing by four or five points, at least make them feel a little bit of pressure on the other side of the net.”

Sussner and Autum Anderson had three aces each, in addition to Sussner’s team-high 20 assists and Anderson’s 22 digs. Neveah Hennen also logged 18 assists.

Abigail Rolbiecki tallied another 20 digs, followed with 15 more from Sussner.

The Falcons responded with three points of their own to keep its deficit from growing more, and eventually took the lead back 14-13.

A Coequyt kill after a long volley possession sparked excitement within the team and fans. However, everytime Minneota would secure a few points, Fillmore continued to go on short runs.

Five consecutive points from two kills, a pair of aces and an attacking error created a 23-16 advantage for Fillmore, continuing to put pressure on the Vikings.

Minneota in return grabbed seven straight points, with kills from Faris and Leah Coequyt, and forced five Falcons attacking errors in its rally back.

At a tied 24-24 score, Minneota grabbed its final two points with another Anderson ace and a ball handling error on Fillmore’s end.

The Vikings brought its confidence that was built in the comeback right into the third with a quick 6-2 advantage, powered with four straight kills from Meagher. Minneota’s offense was its strongest force in the third, with a .273 hitting mark and kept the Falcons to zero.

The set got back to a game of going point-for-point, with neither team allowing much room for runs.

That was until Minneota grew a 22-14 lead on a 8-2 run with kills from Meagher, Gruenes, Faris and Natalie Ratajczak.

“Volleyball is a crazy sport. You can be down 23-17, and you still can find a way to come back,” Faris said. “Personally, I just try to swing as hard as I can at the ball, because you just got to push it point by point and stay together as a team.”

Not looking back, two Fillmore attacking errors and a Faris kill brought the Vikings one set closer to finding a spot in the title game.

“[You have to] just stay together as a team, not looking at others to make a play,” Meagher said. “Just work as a team.”

The fourth set again was down to the wire, as Minneota held just a .140 hitting percentage over Fillmore’s .122, with limited errors on both ends.

Minneota found themselves down 16-10, but two kills from Gruenes and Faris each and an ace from Sussner helped to bring the Vikings back within a point.

With the possibility of going to a fifth set on the line, Minneota prevented that and rallied back once again with an all-around team effort.

“It was a little scary there in set four. I didn’t have any timeouts left … and they still had both timeouts,” Fruin said. “That’s 100% credit to them. I didn’t have to coach, they just found a way to win point by point and cut away at that lead.”

At a tied score of 24, a Jaylyn kill and a forced Fillmore attacking error solidified the win.

Minneota will next head into familiar ground to face top-seeded Mayer Lutheran in the championship match Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

“You just want it so bad, and I want it so bad,” Faris said. “I’m very excited to be able to play in the championship tomorrow.”

The Crusaders have been in the title match the last three seasons in a row, seeing Minneota two of those times. Mayer Lutheran fell to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton last season, was taken down by Minneota in the 2022 match, but were named champions in 2021 over the Vikings.

“Mayer is a good team. They’ve got some size on them and they serve well. They’ve had us on our heels,” Fruin said. “We’ve got to play our best volleyball tomorrow, and why not? It’s your last game no matter what, so go out there and have fun.”