As the volleyball fell to the court for the final time at Richland Center High School on Saturday night, Onalaska Luther players collapsed to the ground.
Seconds later, their teammates from the bench joined them in a pile of excitement that generally accompanies a WIAA sectional championship.
It’s always special, but this celebration had a little more behind it as the Knights could acknowledge that they were going to play in their first state tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
After surviving a five-set battle against Aquinas in a semifinal on Thursday, the Knights returned to the court two days later and pieced together an impressive 25-20, 25-23, 12-25, 25-21 victory over Marshall to earn a spot in the Division 3 state field next week.
“It’s fantastic, it’s a relief,” Luther coach Dan Larson said from the bus after the match. “Marshall is a great team, too.”
Second-seeded Luther (21-10) beat the second-seeded Cardinals (26-11) to win the first sectional it had qualified to play in since 1995. It will learn its seed on Saturday and find out who it plays in a state semifinal on Friday morning.
Barron, Manitowoc Lutheran and Watertown Luther Prep also won sectionals on Saturday and will be at the Resch Center.
Luther Prep is ranked first by the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association, while Barron is second and Manitowoc Lutheran sixth. The Knights are not ranked.
Senior Kayla Schiebel had a team-high 16 kills for the Knights, who also received nine from sophomore Cara Unke and eight from sophomore Audrey Clark.
Luther bounced back from a tough third set to win a close fourth for the victory.
“Marshall brought a great serve,” Larson said. “In set 3, they did a great job (of) keeping us out of system.”
Larson said he followed up the third my emphasizing the score of the fourth when his players go to the bench. It was 0-0, he reminded them.
“Just do it!” Larson said.
Junior Addie Schaper had 40 assists to keep giving Schiebel, Unke and Clark opportunities. Senior Kamryn Anderson had a team-high 32 digs, and Schiebel and sophomore Tessa Gloede had six blocks each.
Schaper added 18 digs, while sophomore Natalie Hackbarth nd sophomore Carsyn Krause had 10 each.
The Knights had a good push with three straight points after the Cardinals tied the score at 16 in the fourth set.
“We could feel the moment shift,” Larson said. “There are key plays that help shift the moment.
“A big kill. A big block. An ace serve. We started creating them and didn’t back down.”
Marshall never led again after that short burst by Luther.
The third set followed up a grueling second set that the Knights used to take a 2-0 lead.
Luther came back from a 9-5 deficit to tie the score at 11. The score was tied nine more times before the Knight broke free from a 23-23 deadlock to score the final two points and take a commanding lead.
