GROTON – Groton fought off a challenge to ‘survive and advance’ Thursday night.
The Tigers turned back Britton-Hecla 25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17 in Region 1A volleyball action.
“It was a good night for us. Britton had a great season and I thought they battled well with us. They did a lot of things that we needed to see and again, we haven’t played a game in a week,” said Groton coach Chelsea Hanson. “We’ve been off for a week, so this is exactly what we needed. I was just really happy for us to come out and survive and advance.”
The Braves struggled early, missing their first two serves and falling down 9-2 to start the match.
“The entire first set, I could tell that we were just overwhelmed by the whole situation, everything that was going on,” said Britton-Hecla coach Jenna Peters. “We didn’t have a ton of confidence, so we definitely met after the first set, and then we just got our heads on right and the girls came out ready to play.”
Britton-Hecla led the majority of the second set until Groton briefly jumped in front 20-19.
“I think we just know that when we play good volleyball, we are fired up and we have energy and we have each other’s backs,” said Britton-Hecla’s Karlie Zuehlke. “We shake off mistakes when we make them and we just overall play well as a team.”
The energy came as a result of blocks for the Braves, as they not only scored on a couple of them, they slowed down the persistent offensive attack from the Tigers.
“I think defense overall, we knew this was going to be tough, and we knew that they were going to be a tough team,” said Peters. “They’re well coached, they have phenomenal hitters, they have a good defense, and we just wanted to get them out of system. Right away that was our main plan and we did it for a long time.”
Not only did the Braves have an effective plan for the Tiger hitters, Groton was also without setter Chesney Weber, due to illness. Talli Wright stepped into the role and although she didn’t miss a beat, it took the Tigers a bit to get used to a new setter on the court.
“That can really change how things go. I mean, it’s a big change of flow. Obviously, we know Talli can step in and do a great job, and she did,” said Hanson. “It’s hard when you don’t have time to process that as a team, so I was super proud of how well our girls just came out and executed.”
The Braves featured a balanced attack in the second set as four different players had kills, led by outside hitters Chellon Pruitt and Madelynn Micko, who saw success down the line.
“When there’s an off pass or an off set, that’s our go-to position and we’re so grateful to have two very strong outside hitters that have many different things,” said Zuehlke. “They have tools they can use to get them out of system or get the point.”
The momentum of the second set carried over into the third set as Groton trailed 13-3 before it started chipping away at the lead.
“We just need to keep our energy up and take it point by point,” said Groton senior middle hitter Rylee Dunker. “That was the big thing tonight. Take it point by point.”
Groton eventually tied the score at 16-16, before taking its first lead of the set on the next point. In that time frame, Dunker collected three kills. She then scored three of her team’s last seven points to finish off the set, racking up six kills during the pivotal third set.
“I just looked for the open spots, put the ball where I haven’t yet,” said Dunker.
Hanson believes that having to rally to win the third set after splitting the first two, will benefit the Tigers as they move on in the postseason.
“We needed that (adversity) because we’re gonna get battle-tested again, so it’s good for us to have someone push at us so we have to learn how to handle our emotions and how we handle adversity a little better,” said Hanson. “I’m not shocked that they came back, but I’m really proud that they did, because it’s a pretty easy position to put your back against the wall. So, I kind of told them good teams can do this.”
Groton bolted out to a lead in the fourth set and closed out the victory from there.
Zuelhlke, a senior captain for the Braves, finished her prep career on a strong note with four kills in the final set.
“I think it’s very important. When I was a sophomore, I just remember having no confidence and just thinking ‘Don’t give me the ball. I don’t wanna make another mistake,’” said Zuehlke. “And now, I make a mistake and I’m like give me the ball. I want to slam it down and I just have such a greater confidence. And it’s so much more fun when you have confidence.”
The Braves as a team finished strong, pushing top-seeded Groton throughout the match.
“I’m incredibly proud, especially considering the way we played during the regular season,” Peters said. “I also knew that my girls were gonna put up a fight tonight, and they wanted it really bad and I was super proud of how they played.”
Groton, 25-5, will take on West Central in the SoDak 16 on Tuesday.
Serving: Britton-Hecla 67-76 2 aces (Jaelee Grupe 16-19 1 ace, Kennady Van Lith 8-9 1 ace); Groton 80-88 7 aces (McKenna Tietz 13-14 2 aces, Jerica Locke 16-17 2 aces, Sydney Locke 9-10 1 ace).
Hitting: Britton-Hecla 127-151 37 (Daynika Zuehlke 34-41 11 kills, Karlie Zuehlke 24-28 11 kills, Maddi Micko 37-38 8 kills); Groton 128-153 50 kills (Tevan Hanson 27-37 13 kills, Rylee Dunker 26-30 11 kills, Jaedyn Penning 39-44 11 kills, Taryn Traphagen 17-18 9 kills).
Setting: Britton-Hecla 154-154 36 assists (Grupe 126-126 33 assists); Groton 39 assists (Talli Wright 34).
Digs: Britton-Hecla 72 (D. Zuehlke 15, Ava Teveldal 15, Grupe 13); Groton 69 (J. Locke 22, Penning 13, S. Locke 11).
Blocks: Britton-Hecla 1 solo 14 assists (Grupe 1 solo 4 assists, K. Zuehlke 4 assists, Abigail Lee 3 assists); Groton 4 (Dunker 1 solo 1 assist, Traphagen 2 assists).
Records: Britton-Hecla 14-13; Groton 25-5.
