By Tyler Buckentine
ST PETER — On the brink of facing a one-game deficit, Le Sueur-Henderson volleyball coach Dave Nixon called a timeout. It happened to be the turning point of the entire Section 2AA final match.
The Giants knocked off Hutchinson 25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13 Saturday in front of a rowdy crowd at Gustavus Adolphus College’s Lund Arena. The win advanced the Giants to the state tournament for the first time since 2006.
“It’s overwhelming,” said senior setter Shelly Blaschko. “It feels so good to actually make it. It’s indescribable. This was by far the most intense match all season.”
The emotions might not have been so happy had Nixon not called the timeout in the third game. Hutchinson led the Giants 22-15 and were dominating so the LSH coach huddled his players.
“(Nixon) said we need to get it together cause we really want it,” said sophomore outside hitter Gretta Schultz. “He wanted us to go out there and fight for it.”
The Giants used Nixon’s pep talk to go on a 10-1 run to win the third game, capped by a Schultz kill, one of her 16 on the night.
“I said ‘we have to battle it out the rest of the game,’” Nixon said. “The biggest thing was to stay positive no matter what was happening.”
Game 4 was a seesaw battle — 10 ties and five lead changes — but the Tigers had the lead late and held on to send it to a fifth game.
“We knew we had to pick it up,” said Blaschko, who finished with 52 set assists and 24 digs. “It was now or never.”
The Giants jumped to an 8-2 lead in Game 5 but the Tigers clawed back to tie it at 12. LSH won three out of the next four points and clinched the victory with another kill by Schultz.
“This was probably the most intense match I’ve ever been involved in,” Schultz said.
Kaitlyn Braun also finished with 16 kills and Morgan Meger and Kim Kuechle each added 10.
After winning a close Game 1 by two points, LSH was flat in the second game, losing by eight. The Tigers led all of Game 2 and didn’t lose the lead until after Nixon’s timeout in the third.
“It’s a long game and you gotta leave it all on the court,” Nixon said. “I’m speechless. That was one roller coaster ride.”
The Giants will play in the Class AA quarterfinals Thursday at the Exel Energy Center in St. Paul. The seedings for the tournament will be decided this week.
