Mustangs prevailBLH advances to Section 2A final

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- A year ago, Buffalo Lake-Hector and Central Minnesota Christian squared off in the sub-section championship game with the Bluejays coming out on top.

With that in mind, the Mustangs had to settle the score and get revenge on the Bluejays.

BLH accomplished what it set out to do as the Mustangs defeated the Bluejays 25-17, 25-15, 25-11 and advanced to the Section 2A championship game at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Gustavus Adolphus College.

"We just wanted to come in being confident and just be ready to play our game," BLH setter Monica Ashburn said. "We knew that they were tough and that they've had a pretty good season."

Monica Ashburn finished with 27 set assists and Leah Ashburn had 14 kills. Leah Burgstahler had 12 kills.

"We were very excited," Burgstahler said. "We knew we had to come out and play our game. We're a hitting team and that's what we had to do."

CMC got out to a quick start as the Bluejays dominated the net early. Kressen Vreeman's kill and Kari Sportel's kill made it 5-1 CMC.

"Sometimes we start out a little bit slow in our games," Monica Ashburn said. "We just weren't passing."

Sportel's block gave CMC a 6-1 lead, but the Mustangs fought back and trailed 8-6 on Leah Ashburn's block.

Burgstahler's tip tied it at 13-13 and thanks to six straight service points from Dayna Rippentrop, the Mustangs led 16-13.

Burgstahler's kill put BLH up 21-17 and Leah Ashburn's kill ended the game 25-17.

The Mustangs avoided a slow start in Game 2 and jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Kristin Raitz' ace serve put BLH 8-4 and Leah Ashburn's kill made it 12-5.

The Bluejays climbed back in thanks to consecutive ace blocks by Sportel, making the score 13-10. However, the Mustangs gained some separation thanks to a Burgstahler ace serve and Tracy Rettmann's kill to give BLH a 21-13 lead. Rettmann's ace serve made it 24-15 and the Mustangs hung on for the 25-15 win.

In Game 3, Burgstahler's ace and Leah Ashburn's tip put BLH up 5-2. BLH jumped out to an 8-3 lead and went up 19-9 on Birgetta Hammer's kill.

It was evident the Bluejays were tired with numerous hitting errors into the net.

"We just kept attacking and they had to keep playing defense, and that tired them out a little bit," Burgstahler said.

Raitz' ace serve ended the game 25-11.

With the win, the Mustangs (29-1) face Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin for the section championship.

"We're excited to play against them," Burgstahler said. "It was our goal all season to get there and we've been playing it one game at a time."

Monica Ashburn was also thrilled knowing that her team is one win away from state.

"We're glad we're not here crying right now," Monica Ashburn said. "It's just the opposite of last year."