Volleyball: Caledonia Takes Down #2 Z-M, Finishes as 1AA Runner-Up

Scott Koepke’s Caledonia Warriors almost joined Mabel-Canton in the state volleyball field. Team Cal knocked off the #2 in team in AA on its way to a 1AA runner-up finish. 

Caledonia (4-seed, 17-12) played Goodhue (5-seed, 16-13) in the 1AA quarters. Set two was the only real tussle. Caledonia trailed most of it, including 20-16. They then scored six straight points. Included were two Jovial King aces, and two defensive hustle plays (including frosh Aubrie King flying into her own bench), annulling seemingly sure-fire Wildcat points. Both scrambles ended with Logan Koepke and Sienna Augedahl combining for a block. The plays stoked Warrior momentum and a 22-20 lead. Caledonia ended the game on a 9-1 run to take it 25-21. Team Cal took control of game one via an 11-3 mid-set-run for an 18-10 lead. The final there was 25-18. The Warriors controlled the last set, jumping out 12-4. They took it 25-14 for the 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-21, 25-14). Returning All-TRC players King (4 kills, 32 assists, 22-23 serving, 4 aces), Koepke (10 kills, 11 digs), and Paige Klug (team-high 13 kills on .565 hitting) led the way. A-Klug had 11 digs. Braelyn Lange (8 kills) and Sienna Augedahl (4 kills) helped. Goodhue was led unofficially by Tori Miller (9 kills, 8 digs) and Liz Gadient (16 assists, 10 digs). 

The Warriors (4-seed, 18-12) then took on #2 in AA Zumbrota-Mazeppa (1-seed, 25-4) in the 1AA semis. Caledonia’s 12-loss record comes with an asterisk. They played big tournaments versus multiple higher-class teams, plus non-conference game with tough competition. The reason was simple. For big-time playoff games (like Z-M). The Cougars were comfortable early in game one, blocking well to a 7-1 lead. Cal fought back and eventually tied things at 18. But Z-M scored four points in a Rylee Nelson service session to lead 23-18. They took the first set 25-20. In game two, the Warriors never trailed until late. Z-M erased a 19-15 Cal lead with a 5-0 run to lead 20-19. The match had ties at 19, 20, 22, and 23. One of Caledonia’s strengths, its length, hence good blocking, was critical late. A Koepke ace block and a Augedahl/King combo-block gave the Warriors the match at 25-23. The top-seed Cougars rallied in game three, spreading around the wealth offensively. Caledonia never led. After trailing 23-18, they crept to down 23-21, but a Nelson kill and a Warrior return error gave Z-M the set 25-21 and the match lead 2-1. Game four swung back Caledonia’s way. They jumped out 7-2. Said edge ballooned to 17-10. The Warriors serving and defense were taking their toll on their top-seeded adversary. Caledonia took the game 25-18 to knot the match at 2-2, setting up the pivotal fifth set. In it, Caledonia trailed 9-6 but spurted 4-1 to even things at 10. Four ties later, it was 14-14. Z-M staved off a game/match point at 14-13 via a Natalie Dykes big kill. But a Cougar error again put the upstart Warriors one point away from the 1AA title match. All game, they’d kept composed amidst big spurts. The final point, they kept their cool too. Senior Paige Klug was set once, twice, and then a third time. Z-M defended the first two, but the third got through a double-block to the floor. The Warriors pulled the upset 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 16-14)! Defense was key, led by the frosh Aubrie Klug (24 digs). King (38 assists, 16 digs), Koepke (17 kills, 17 digs, 5 total blks), and P-Klug (15 kills, 13 digs) were also busy on “D,” as was Emme Kittleson (13 digs). Koepke did her offensive damage without a first set kill. Lange (5 kills, 4 total blks), Liv Myhre (6 kills, 3 total blks), and Augedahl (5 kills, 8 total blks) helped Caledonia author 13 total blocks. Z-M had eight. Alexis Schroeder was 24 of 25 serving with 3 aces. Nelson (15 kills, 24 assists, 26 digs, 4 total blks), a Seton Hall commit, Dykes (14 kills – six in game five), Lilly Mehrkens (11 kills), Megan Schoenfelder (10 kills), and Ella Chandler (9 kills) gave the Cougars great balance. Torey Stencel (26 assists, 12 digs), Lola Wagner (27 digs), and Melanie Raasch (15 digs) also did work for Z-M. The Cougars had 61 total errors to Cal’s 41. 

The Warriors (4-seed, 19-12) moved on to a battle with defending champ #6 Cannon Falls (2-seed, 25-7) for the 1AA title. The first set, the Warriors re-enacted things from their win over Z-M. Cal’s blocking and defense were strong. They started 5-1 and then never led by less than four in a 25-18 victory. Awakened, the Bombers turned the tables in game two. They started 8-2 and blitzed to a 25-12 victory, evening the match 1-1. In the third, things got competitive. The Bombers led about ¾ of the set, but Caledonia went on a 4-0 run to go up 18-16. With things tied 20-20, CF’s Falon Hepola served three straight points. All told, Cannon scored five of the last six. The last two were kills by 6’1” hitter Madison Burr. CF got the 25-21 win. Game four again had CF leading most of the way. The Warriors trailed 21-15 late only to score five straight points, getting to down 21-20. But high-rising Bomber sophomore Karsyn Winchell hammered two shots into voids. A Warrior error made it 24-20. Cal staved off one set point, but Burr hammered down the dagger from the back row. The Bombers repeated as 1AA champ, 3-1 (18-25, 25-12, 25-21-25, 25-21). Their hitting power was too much for the Warriors’ defense. Koepke (15 kills, 18 digs), Klug (9 kills, 11 digs), and Lange (9 kills) led the offense. Myhre (5 kills, 5 total blks) and Augedahl (5 kills, 5 total blks) helped. King (36 assists, 12 digs) did the setting. A-Klug had a team-high 23 digs. Burr (18 kills, 19 digs, 3 aces), Elle Lind (12 kills), Winchell (10 kills, 19 digs) and Rachael Miller (9 kills, 6 total blks) combined for 49 kills. CF hit .207 to Cal’s .146. Hepola (51 assists, 17 digs) and Kyra Schoenfelder (team-best 23 digs) were also big. The Warriors excellent, TRC Champs, 1A runner-up season ends at 19-13. King, Klug, Schroeder, Emma Stemper, Ava Privet, and Charlese Walk are their six seniors. Seven of the 10 girls to play a lot will return though.