ST. PETER — A rally of a lifetime for an opportunity of a lifetime.
That’s what Cleveland volleyball faced after falling behind 2-0 against Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart in Thursday’s Section 2A championship game. The Clippers have never claimed a sectional championship, and everything appeared bleak falling behind 9-2 in the third set.
But as the final whistle blew the Clippers, and what appeared to be the entire town of Cleveland, were celebrating history.
The Clippers won their first ever sectional championship 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 16-14 at St. Peter High School.
“I just knew we could do it,” said junior Taylor McCabe, who finished with 37 kills in the win. “We didn’t play our game (in the first two sets). Once we started playing our game I knew we could finish it off.
“We worked so hard for it.”
Cleveland advances to the state tournament beginning Nov. 5th at the Grand Casino Arena (formerly the Xcel Energy Center). The Clippers will learn their opponent when brackets are revealed Sunday.
“The fact that we had to do it the way we did it…,” Clippers head coach Dave Nixon said. “I said ‘guys, it’s gonna mean way more if we come back and get the reverse sweep’. And the girls just got it done. I can’t believe it. It was looking so dim for us, and we just hung in there.
“We just survived.”
Fresh out of a timeout trailing 9-2 in the third set the Clippers surged to the tune of a 13-4 run to lead 15-13 off a kill from McCabe, which felt like a common occurrence on Thursday. The Mustangs clapped back to tie the match twice before taking a 22-20 lead thanks to an ace from standout senior Lily Hubin.
A kill from junior Malie Meissner pulled Cleveland within one. It was the spark the Clippers needed to claim five of the frame’s final six points, featuring a trio of kills from junior Melia Sathoff, to claim the third stanza 25-23.
The Clippers had momentum. The Cleveland faithful which made the quick 12-minute trip over the bridge on Broadway Ave. began to make its presence felt.
It was a new game.
“I was pleading ‘hey, everyone step up,’ And, man, did they step up,” Nixon said.
“We just had to get through that third set.”
Set four saw the Clippers trail 14-12 after multiple back-and-forth runs. Another kill from McCabe pulled Cleveland within one point. She came up with four more kills as part of an 8-1 run to take a 20-15 lead. The Mustangs stormed back to within two points at 20-18, but a kill and an ace from McCabe and a kill from Meissner gave Cleveland a 23-19 lead.
Sathoff delivered the final two kills to clinch the fourth frame 25-21. If the Cleveland crowd was loud before, it grew even louder entering the fifth and final set. All the orange and black needed was to win the race to 15 for a chance at school history.
But BLHS wasn’t going down without a fight. In fact, the Mustangs had a 14-13 lead and the game seemingly in their hooves.
Then McCabe came in with arguably the biggest kill of her life to tie the match at 14. An attack error by Hubin gave Cleveland a 15-14 lead.
Sophomore setter Jocelyn Kortuem dropped back to serve. The Mustangs returned the ball over the net. Kortuem fed McCabe. Her kill attempt was initially tipped at the net. But BLHS couldn’t get a clean dig. Its third hit on the ball couldn’t get over the net.
Cleveland pulled off the reverse sweep. A dog pile ensued. Members of the student section decked out in camo rushed the floor.
On a night where a win felt improbable, the final outcome proved to be become historical.
“Before every play we told each other that we trusted each other and that we believe in ourselves,” Sathoff said. “Our team does a great job at pushing when the stakes are high.”
Sathoff finished with 23 kills, 25 digs, a solo block and an ace. McCabe chipped in 22 digs, two solo blocks, an ace and an assist. Kortuem racked up 57 assists, 24 digs, four kills, a block assist and an ace. Meissner added five kills.
Junior Delaney Thompson earned 25 digs. Sophomore Luci Blaschko chipped in with 19 digs. Junior Kaitlyn Flowers chipped in four digs and an ace.