The Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers started out their postseason journey with as good of a start as they could have asked for Tuesday night at Roncalli Gym.

The Cavaliers scored 17 of the first 18 points of the match and rolled to a 25-5, 25-12, 25-7 sweep over Tiospa Zina in Region 1A volleyball action.

“We knew that we had to get this one done. We knew that we could beat them right away and get it done in three,” said Roncalli junior Ava Hanson, who had seven kills in the first 15 points of the opening set. “We were all super excited coming out from the start. Our passes were there, our hits were there, the sets were there.”

Hanson finished the first set with nine kills on the way to a match-leading 14 kills on the night.

When Hanson wasn’t pounding down shots at the net, the Cavaliers were finding open spots from the service line. Roncalli racked up 26 aces on the evening, 10 of them coming from McKenna O’Keefe.

“We’ve just been practicing serves a lot at practice and so I’ve just been really focusing on where I place the ball,” O’Keefe said. “I just really wanted to test out some spots today and it seemed to work out.”

The junior repeatedly found an opening in the back right corner of the court.

Roncalli coach Mandy Smid said the squad devoted nearly an entire practice to serving last week.

“We definitely have reiterated to the girls how important the serve is and what can be done as far as setting the tone for a match,” Smid said, “and not just serving aggressively in the center of the court, but serving aggressively to those corners.”

While the Wambdi gained a bit of traction in the second set, it was an uphill battle for the visitors the entire way.

“Aberdeen played really well tonight,” said Tiospa Zina coach Eric Heath. “Give them credit.”

Heath said his team, which was minus two starters, gave up the early momentum and then was unable to recover against the defense of the Cavaliers.

“It’s impossible to play catch up with a team like that, that can cover so well,” Heath said. “It’s tough.”

Heath praised the play of senior leader Neveah German in her final match.

“I was really proud of our senior to lead us,” Heath said, “just through her experience and trying to pump up the team, so I appreciate that of her.”

While the match was the final home appearance for the Cavaliers, Smid said the team doesn’t talk about things like that, instead focusing on each opponent.

“The girls are so driven to continue, that last is not a word that is in their vocabulary at this point,” Smid said.

Still, the players understand what is at stake now that the postseason has arrived.

“We just had to play as a team,” O’Keefe said. “We just knew this could potentially be our last time playing together, so we just had to give it our all as a team.”

The Cavaliers, 19-5, will now take on Milbank Area in the semifinals at approximately 7:45 p.m. Thursday in Groton.

Hanson said there is a different feel to this squad compared to ones she has played on in the past.

“This season’s been different,” Hanson said. “We’ve been working together in a different way. We’ve been playing as a team more. We have big plans for this season.”

Serving: Aberdeen Roncalli 59-64 26 aces (McKenna O’Keefe 20-21 10 aces, Maddie Huber 13-14 6 aces).

Hitting: Aberdeen Roncalli 51-58 38 kills (Ava Hanson 16-17 14 kills, O’Keefe 9-10 6 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Roncalli (Faith Danielson 35-35 23 assists, Huber 22-22 12 assists).

Digs: Aberdeen Roncalli 27 (Camryn Bain 8, Danielson 5).

Blocks: Aberdeen Roncalli 2 assists (Hanson 1, Jaidyn Feickert 1).

Records: Tiospa Zina 7-21; Aberdeen Roncalli 19-5.

Tiospa Zina stats not available