Holy Angels Rallies Past Kasson-Mantorville in State Volleyball Opener

Holy Angels rallied from a 2-sets-to-1 deficit to beat Kasson-Mantorville in the quarterfinals of the Class AA state high school volleyball tournament at Xcel Energy Center. The No. 4 versus No. 5 seeded match-up took nearly two hours to settle, with Holy Angels prevailing 15-25, 25-22, 14-25, 25-22, 15-13.

Facing elimination after dropping the third set, the Stars staged a late surge in the fourth set. With the score tied at 13-13, Holy Angels went on a 7-3 run to lead 20-16. The teams traded blows the rest of the way with Holy Angels taking the set 25-22.

The fifth set saw several big swings in momentum. Holy Angels led 4-1 and 8-5. KM went ahead 9-8. The Stars responded with a 6-2 lead to pull within one point of clinching the victory. The KoMets scored the next two points to make it 14-13. Holy Angels ended the comeback when 6-foot-2, Marquette-bound junior Ellie Koontz drilled her 24th kill of the night. The Stars did not make a hitting error in the final set.

Kasson-Mantorville had a strong start to the match, jumping out to a 13-3 lead on the way to a 25-15 first-set win. Holy Angels went on an 8-0 run midway through the second set and won it 25-22. KM dominated throughout the third set, committing just one hitting error, to win 25-14, but the Stars prevented the KoMets from reaching the semifinals.

Peyton Suess led Kasson-Mantorville with 32 kills. Emilee Terry had 12. Kasson-Mantorville plays Kenyon-Wanamingo in Friday's consolation semifinals at 5PM. The Stars meet defending champ Maple Lake in the championship semifinals.