The Groton Tigers established the tone in the opening minutes and Webster never fully recovered in Region 1A volleyball action Thursday night.

Groton scored the first six points of the match, played with a lead most of the way, and grabbed a 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 victory at Roncalli Gym.

Sophomore Liz Fliehs cranked out the first six serves, including an ace to help the Tigers get off to a lightning fast start.

“We’ve been on the receiving end of the 0-7 start many times, so to say that I’m happy that we were the givers on that is an understatement,” said Groton coach Chelsea Hanson. “Liz is a great server. She can put the ball wherever she wants and she’s aggressive. It’s got a lot of float on it.”

Fliehs said she tries to pay attention to where opposing players are positioned when she goes to serve the ball.

“I try to look at the seams and see what biggest spots are open,” Fliehs said. “That’s the hardest for people to pass from, so that’s just the strategy I use.”

Groton was never threatened in the opening set and took control of the match by securing the second set with a surge that broke a 17-17 tie.

Groton’s aggressiveness put the Bearcats in a difficult position.

“Unfortunately, we just kind of got caught on the heels of our feet instead of the tip-toes of them,” said Webster coach Vanessa Bloom, “and couldn’t get that to work for us.”

The Bearcats never quit, though. Their defense picked up throughout the match and it appeared a fourth set would be needed as Webster owned an 18-11 lead late in the third.

However, the Tigers had other ideas. Groton reeled off nine unanswered points and eventually closed out the victory. A two-set difference likely played a role for the way each team played at crunch time.

“Being able to play loose really helped us to stay more aggressive and just keep swinging,” Fliehs said, “which kept the ball on their side of the court.”

Meanwhile, the Bearcats did not have the luxury of being able to play relaxed.

“Definitely want to go out with that strong attack, but we started to maybe play a little timid,” Bloom said, “and we never want to do that.”

Hanson pointed to her team’s depth as a factor during the match, which included a pair of substitutions during that pivotal third-period surge.

“We have 15 girls on our bench and at any given time any one of them could have their number called and we don’t lose much,” Hanson said. “We don’t drop off a lot. We have depth there.”

Aspen Johnson and Sydney Leicht each had nine kills to lead a balanced Groton attack. Jerica Locke contributed three aces and 13 digs.

Webster received five kills and a dozen digs from Gracie Cadwell, and an ace, four kills, four set assists and 12 digs from Baylie Somsen.

Groton, 13-14 on the season, will face Aberdeen Roncalli at 6 p.m. Thursday at Roncalli Gym for the right to advance to the SoDak 16 next week.

“We’re just going to keep worrying about what’s on our side of the court and make sure that we’re controlling the ball and playing aggressively, and not playing back on our heels,” Hanson said. “We’re just excited for the opportunity to compete another day. That’s what post season is all about.”

Serving: Groton 65-74 7 aces (Jerica Locke 12-13 3 aces, Liz Fliehs 14-15 1 ace, Carly Guthmiller 8-10 1 ace); Webster 50-54 2 aces (Baylie Somsen 10-10 1 ace, Elliott Steiner 11-11, Jersey Johnson 9-9).

Hitting: Groton 111-136 32 kills (Aspen Johnson 17-22 9 kills, Sydney Leicht 32-38 9 kills, Anna Fjeldheim 25-31 4 kills); Webster 69-83 14 kills (Gracie Cadwell 17-21 5 kills, Somsen 9-9 4 kills, Steiner 5-6 2 kills).

Setting: Groton 32 assists (Fliehs 29 assists); Webster 89-91 11 assists (Steiner 40-42 7 assists, Somsen 30-30 4 assists).

Digs: Groton 69 (Locke 13, Laila Roberts 13, Guthmiller 10, Fjeldheim 10, Leicht 10); Webster 72 (Cadwell 12, Somsen 12, Kara Kwasniewski 12).

Blocks: Groton 4 (Johnson 1 solo, Fjeldheim 1 solo, Emma Kutter 1 solo); Webster (Erin Sannes 1 solo 1 assists, Steiner 3 assists).

Records: Groton 13-14; Webster 14-13.