State volleyball: Stewartville topple Mahtomedi in Class 3A quarterfinal

A block party propelled third-seeded Stewartville over sixth-seeded Mahtomedi Wednesday night at Grand Casino Arena in St Paul punching their ticket to the Class A semifinals A dominant defensive display by the Tigers held the Zephyrs to a hitting percentage and Stewartville head coach Sam Pederson mentioned even battling sickness his organization s effort at the net was insane For them to work as hard as they did and feel the way that they did not our best huge that we were able to control the battle in that aspect Pederson commented Stewartville a storied Minnesota volleyball campaign with five state championships made a comment at the net in its state tournament opener The Tigers thwarted the Zephyrs hopes of an upset in Mahtomedi s fourth consecutive state tournament appearance Stewartville overpowered the Zephyrs at the net down the stretch in the first set to take the opening set with a - supremacy This theme continued throughout the match as the Tigers put up total gang blocks to the Zephyrs five Mahtomedi senior outside hitter Louisa Tarnowski took over in Set posting nine kills in the frame as the Zephyrs built a - lead part way through the second set Tarnowski finished the match with a monster stat line of kills and digs Zephyrs senior libero Claire Crothers disclosed the confidence Tarnowski exudes is infectious and integral against a block like Stewartville s She was feeling good which made all of us feel good too Crothers declared So I think that it kind of just spread to the rest of the club and that really helps A late charge from the Tigers forced the set into extras but Zephyrs senior outside hitter Sahar Ramaley detected the donut in Stewartville s defense to secure the second set - Riding the momentum built at the tail end of Set Stewartville jumped out to a - lead The Tigers got big swings from a pair of seniors in middle hitter Matilda Dube and opposite Ella Theobald in the opening stages of the third set Stewartville slammed the door shut in the third set - as Tigers senior middle hitter Dream Petersohn smashed a swing off Mahtomedi s block to reclaim its lead in the match In the fourth set Stewartville dominated the net constructing a - advantage in search of the blow that would knock out the Zephyrs Related Articles State volleyball Cretin-Derham Hall on to semis after beating Sauk Rapids-Rice State volleyball Apple Valley upsets East Ridge in A quarters State volleyball Lakeville South begins A title defense with win over Sartell High School Volleyball Gophers commit Madi Kraft is Eagan s defensive anchor Mahtomedi mirrored its first set determination and clawed back into set pulling with two on Stewartville s first match point But Theobald tooled the Zephyrs block pushing the Tigers over the line with a - set win Coach Pederson noted he is a newer member of the Stewartville volleyball family but his association understands the tradition and standard that comes with being a Tiger To see them know what that is but then not just want it to be history but they want to be a part of it in the way that they can push themselves Pederson announced It just makes it a lot of fun for us coaches We get to work on a lot of things that are at a pretty high level and make a difference for us because they re willing to learn The next challenge for the Tigers is a matchup with Benilde-St Margaret s in the Class A semifinal Friday morning at a m on the same Grand Casino Arena court