State volleyball: Caledonia sweeps Concordia Academy in Class 2A quarterfinal

The Concordia Academy Beacons lost in three sets to the Caledonia Warriors in the Class 2A volleyball state tournament quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center.

After getting blown out in the first set 25-12, Concordia Academy rebounded and was much more competitive in the second set, making it extremely close but losing 29-27. They then dropped the third and final set 25-14.

The loss to the third-seeded Warriors didn’t come as a total shock, as the Beacons were at a height and defensive disadvantage. Concordia Academy coach Kim Duis said her team knew what to expect from its opponent after playing Caledonia earlier in the season, and the Warriors didn’t do anything that surprised them.

“We knew they were going to have a big block, and I think a big part of it was trying to hit around that,” she said. “It makes things very tough, to us, of just communication and passing. I think those were the two biggest things. They’ve got some big hitters, but I think the blocking and our passing are the big keys to today.”

Duis and junior Julia Bigalke said the struggles the team had in the not-as-competitive first set were self-inflicted and a product of inexperience the team had playing at the state level.

“I think (the struggles) were more on us, a little bit of first time being out there,” Duis said. “Some of these guys are returners from last year’s team, but some of them on the floor, it’s their first time being out there. So a little bit of the jitters and nerves. But I thought we did a really good job turning it around in the second game, and putting in the battle, to have the energy to come back. We knew it was going to be a battle the whole game, so just kind of settling in and getting back to playing our game.”

“They had some big swings. It just kind of happened to be on us and what we were doing,” Bigalke said. “They came out strong and very ready to go, and I think that caused us to be a little bit more timid.”

Coach Duis talked about the age of her team and how that plays into hopes for next season, as this year’s team had many juniors and got a lot of production from seventh-grader Ella Bohren.

“With this group, we have a lot coming back,” Duis said. “And it’s fun, we’ve got tomorrow to battle with it. But we have a good group returning. We’re looking forward to the future, but we’re looking forward to tomorrow first.”

Concordia Academy takes on Redwood Valley on Friday night in a consolation match at Xcel Energy Center.