Groton came out swinging and moved on in the postseason with a hard-fought victory over Britton-Hecla Thursday night.

The Tigers racked up 48 kills on the way to a 25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 25-18 Region 1A volleyball victory at the Roncalli Gym.

Groton coach Chelsea Hanson was pleased with her team’s offensive production, particularly the different ways the Tigers found opportunities to score throughout the match.

“Any time we are scoring 10-12 kills a set that’s a good night offensively,” Hanson said. “I thought that Taryn (Traphagen) and Tevan (Hanson) did a really nice job scoring the ball and not always the same way. They were tipping, they were roll-shotting, they were hitting hard.”

The coach also gave credit to Britton-Hecla for its defensive effort, pointing out how the Braves made Groton work for nearly every point.

“I’m going to give Britton major props,” Hanson said. “I think they robbed us of about 10 kills just with scrappy plays and that isn’t easy to do in this gym.”

The teams split the first two sets, with Groton taking the opening set before Britton-Hecla responded with a victory in the second. However, the Tigers regrouped and took control in the third set, before closing out the match with a fourth-set victory.

Senior middle hitter Taryn Traphagen helped lead Groton’s offensive attack with 16 kills, and said the team understood the type of environment it would face coming into the Roncalli Gym.

“We knew coming into Roncalli it was a small gym and loud environment,” Traphagen said. “Starting with serve receive, once we get that ball on the net we were going to be good.”

Traphagen also credited Britton-Hecla middle hitter Jaelee Grupe for making things challenging at the net, explaining that she had to find different ways to put the ball away.

“Kudos to their middle Jaelee Grupe. She was on me all night, so I just found a way to get a point,” Traphagen said, “and it might not be the biggest kill every point, so just finding a spot open in the court.”

Tevan Hanson contributed 15 kills to the Groton total.

Despite the loss, Britton-Hecla showed plenty of fight and made Groton earn its victory. Braves coach Jenna Peters was proud of the effort her team put forward.

“We fought hard. Chellon (Pruitt) really stepped up and had some really beautiful hits,” Peters said. “All I asked these girls was to give it their all and they did.”

Peters discussed the importance of momentum in volleyball and how it can influence a team’s confidence and willingness to attack.

“Momentum is a huge part of volleyball. When we get that momentum, the girls feel on top of the world,” Peters said. “They aren’t worried or scared to attack at the net or go up and make the big blocks. As soon as it goes the other way, you tighten up a little bit and get nervous.”

The season was a memorable one for the Braves, who reached a milestone by recording 17 wins, their in two decades. Peters said the team had its sights set on reaching the SoDak 16 and believed this was one of its best opportunities to accomplish that goal.

“This is the most wins we have had in 20 years, so that was exciting,” Peters said. “We really wanted this milestone to get the SoDak 16, and I thought this was our best chance yet. We had a good season.”

Grupe reflected on the team’s performance at the net and the contributions from several younger players who stepped into bigger roles this season.

“Our offense was pretty strong, our presence at the net, we had some big blocks up,” Grupe said. “That number 5 (Traphagen) just kept getting through us, but I think we slowed her down and she had to turn it tipping, which helped our defense a lot.”

Grupe noted that the Braves had several players take on important responsibilities after the team graduated key contributors from last season.

“We lost a lot of key players from last year, so we had some young girls step up this year, and we filled those spots pretty well,” Grupe said. “I think our outsides really took some weight this year and our middles had a good presence at the net, and we had a good libero step up this year.”

For Groton, the victory was about more than simply winning in four sets. Hanson emphasized the importance of staying composed through the emotions and momentum swings that come with playoff volleyball.

“Postseason is just different. We have played 30-something matches this year, but these three games are the only ones that matter,” Hanson said, “so for us it doesn’t really matter what happened in the first 30-something games. You still have to show up.”

Coach Hanson credited her team’s experience navigating difficult situations throughout the season and hopes the competitive match against Britton-Hecla will prepare the Tigers for their next postseason challenge.

“The team who weathers the storm the best is the team who wins, so we’ve had to weather a lot of storms this year,” Hanson said. “I think we are definitely prepared, and tonight was a great atmosphere and environment. Britton definitely gave us a run for our money, and I hope it does prepare us for next week.”

Groton, 20-13 on the season, will take on a familiar foe in Tuesday’s SoDak 16 match, facing fellow Northeast Conference foe Clark-Willow Lake.

Serving: Britton-Hecla 10 aces (Daynika Zuehlke 3, Brynlee Schmieg 2, Chellon Pruitt 2); Groton 7 aces (Tori Schuster 2, Sydney Locke 1, Taryn Traphagen 1).

Hitting: Britton-Hecla 27 kills (Zuehlke 7, Pruitt 6 kills, Adalynn Schmieg 5); Groton 48 kills (Tevan Hanson 16, Traphagen 15 kills, Chesney Weber 8).

Setting: Britton-Hecla 32 assists (Jaelee Grupe 32); Groton 40 assists (Tori Schuster 37).

Digs: Britton-Hecla 85 (Kennedy Van Luhn 26, Zuehlke 23 digs, B. Schmieg 21); Groton 73 (Locke 22, Tevan Hanson 12, McKenna Tietz 11).

Blocking: Groton 8 (Traphagen 1 solo 3 assists; Schuster 1 solo 2 assists, Libby Cole 3 assists).

Records: Britton-Hecla 17-7; Groton 20-13.