Final Four bound!!

Oh, how things change.

Three years ago the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters came to the state tournament for the first time with more nerves than confidence. This year, that team was St. Croix Lutheran. The Crusaders were visibly nervous in game one as the Streeters won 25-4 on their way to a 3-1 victory in the state quarterfinals.

“You couldn’t ask for a better start than that,” said head coach Jim Klaphake. “We were fired up and they were nervous. But we knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. We knew they would settle down and be better than that.”

Senior middle hitter Macy Weller recorded 33 kills and Jena Klaphake had 48 set assists to lead Sauk into the Final Four.

The Streeters got out to a 15-1 lead in game one as they coasted to the win. Game two, though, was a different story. The Crusaders’ nerves obviously went away as they came back from an early deficit to win 25-22.

“Our defense the second game really disintegrated,” said Weller. “We had to get it back and we did.”

The Streeters rebounded in game three with a 25-18 win and closed the door in game four with another 25-18 win.

Klaphake was happy with the team’s effort, especially the defense who countered the Crusaders hitting attack by keeping balls alive and giving Weller, Kendra Zenzen, Ashley Kollman and Brianna Von Wahlde opportunities at the net. Zenzen turned in a solid performance with nine kills and Kollman added six. VonWahlde had five kills and Liz Ellens played well off the bench with two kills.

Defensively, junior libero Katie Reitsma had 23 kills and Kollman added 22.

We’re not flashy offensively,” Klaphake said. “We have some awfully good hitters, but defense is the heart of this team. It’s all six girls, whether it’s blocking or digging, we do it as a unit.”

The Streeters will face Caledonia tonight at 7 p.m., who beat Maple Lake 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-9) and is 26-6 on the season. Caledonia’s losses came to Stewartville, Wabasha-Kellogg, Kasson-Mantorville, Cretin Derham-Hall, Marshall and Jackson County Central. Other winners Thursday in Class 2A were Marshall (3-0 over Mora) and Belle Plaine/Holy Family Academy (3-0) over Thief River Falls.

“We’re in the final four,” said Klaphake. “There are nothing but good teams left.”

When asked what their mindset is heading into Friday’s semi-finals, both Zenzen and Weller said, “win.”