<body><div>Two points. The Belle Plaine Tigers volleyball season came to a heartbreaking end on Thursday, Nov. 5, with a 3-2 loss, and a two-point tiebreaker set loss, to the Southwest Christian Stars in the Section 2AA Championship in St. Peter.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=47tMbE_1H4kVsLj00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=47tMbE_1H4kVsLj00" width="1741" height="1190" ><figcaption>Seniors Alaina Johnston (left) and Elise McCann get ready to receive a serve from Southwest Christian. In back is junior Emma Martin. PHOTO BY RACHEL MILLER</figcaption></figure>Since the section switched to at-large seeding in 2024, the championship game has come down to Belle Plaine and Southwest Christian every year — with Southwest Christian winning every time. The last time Belle Plaine beat the Stars was in the section semifinals in 2022 — which was the last time the Tigers made it to state.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3d5xK4_1H4kVsLj00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3d5xK4_1H4kVsLj00" width="1238" height="1672" ><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Cr2y0_1H4kVsLj00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Cr2y0_1H4kVsLj00" width="1179" height="1756" >After more than three years of losses to the Stars, the Tigers were hungry for a win, and started strong in the very first set. While Southwest Christian took an early lead, the Tigers played close, and the Stars did not lead by more than three or four points. The Tigers were down 16-14 when the hard-hitting Alaina Johnston hit a kill, and then tipped the ball over on the next play to tie the game at 16. A Tigers block, great diving save from Emma Martin, and two more kills from Johnston allowed Belle Plaine to pull ahead 20-17.Belle Plaine and the Stars played a close match to the end. While Belle Plaine managed to lead 23-21, Southwest Christian won the next three points. A Southwest Christian serve landed out of bounds to tie the game at 24, and sophomore Maya Selly blocked a hit to give Belle Plaine a 25-24 advantage. Belle Plaine served up the winning point to take the first set 26-24.The next two sets followed a similar pattern; Belle Plaine played close to the mid-point of the game, but Southwest Christian finished strong, and won both sets 25-19 to pull ahead 2-1.Belle Plaine had a very rough start in the fourth set, and Southwest Christian took an 8-2 lead. Despite that gap, the Tigers did not give up. Johnston and Martin both hit kills to score back-to-back points, and senior Morgan Giles followed suit by serving an ace. Johnston then hit three kills to tie the game, 8-8. <img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1GMZm1_1H4kVsLj00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1GMZm1_1H4kVsLj00" width="1192" height="1738" >Southwest Christian managed to pull ahead again, but a kill from Martin followed by two straight aces from Ava Bommelyn gave Belle Plaine a 15-12 lead. The Tigers pulled ahead 23-16, and then the Stars started chipping away, closing the gap to 23-21 before Belle Plaine scored two points to win 25-21.The game was now tied 2-2, and the tiebreaker fifth set is shortened to 15 points. Belle Plaine had been the first to reach 15 points in the last three sets.Southwest Christian started the set with a serve into the net, and Johnston came through with three points to help Belle Plaine take a 4-2 lead. However, the Stars applied pressure and won five of the next six points to pull ahead 7-5. The Tigers were chasing Southwest Christian for the rest of the game, and starting at 10-10, tied at every point, with the Stars always breaking the tie to lead.The tension was palpable when Southwest Christian tipped the ball over the net and pulled ahead 15-14, but the Tigers responded and tied the game at 15…and then 16.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0B0XB2_1H4kVsLj00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0B0XB2_1H4kVsLj00" width="1763" height="1175" ><figcaption>Tigers fans celebrate after Belle Plaine scored a point to tie the game late in the fifth set. PHOTO BY RACHEL MILLER</figcaption></figure>Belle Plaine finally broke through and scored another point to lead 17-16 and was one point away from a state berth, but Southwest Christian won the next point to tie the game. Maya Selly hit a kill to give the Tigers an 18-17 lead….but the Tigers were unable to put the game away, and the Stars won the next three points to win 20-18, and earn their fourth consecutive trip to the Class AA State Tournament.It was a devastating loss for the Tigers, especially for seniors Johnston, Giles, McCann, Mya Bommelyn, Jada Selly and Mallory Kelm. The Tigers have been fighting to make it back to the state arena for four years, and the championship game was the closest since the team’s regular season 3-2 loss to Southwest Christian in 2024.Johnston led the team’s offense digs with 27 digs across the five sets. Martin hit 11 kills, Maya Selly had six, Kylie Linquist and McCann both had two kills, and Ava Bommelyn threw up 36 set assists and had one kill.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0P9jfe_1H4kVsLj00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0P9jfe_1H4kVsLj00" width="1629" height="1272" ><figcaption>Senior Alaina Johnston hit a kill past a Southwest Christian player. Johnston came through with a number of kills at key moments in the championship game, including three straight kills that tied the fourth set 8-8. PHOTO BY RACHEL MILLER</figcaption></figure>Martin was on top of the team’s defensive effort and came up with 16 digs. Johnston had 14 digs, Jada Selly had 13, Ava Bommelyn had eight digs, Linquist had seven, Morgan Giles came up with five digs, and Mya Bommelyn had one dig.Maya Selly also had six blocks, and McCann and Martin both had three blocks.Ava and Mya Bommelyn both served up two aces, and Johnston, Jada Selly and Giles both had one ace.“It definitely was a bittersweet finish, but I’m incredibly proud of the girls and how hard they played — it was the closest we’ve been with them in years and if we were going to go out on a loss, that is exactly how I wanted it to look: an absolute war from start to finish,” said Coach Taylor Kruger. “This year was special not only because it was my first, but because I felt like I got to see the culture we’ve been implementing all year finally take hold and they embraced everything we have tried to teach them.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0fRToq_1H4kVsLj00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0fRToq_1H4kVsLj00" width="1666" height="1245" ><figcaption>Junior Kylie Lindquist returns a hit from Southwest Christian. PHOTO BY RACHEL MILLER</figcaption></figure></div></body>

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The Belle Plaine Tigers volleyball season came to a heartbreaking end on Thursday, Nov. 5, with a 3-2 loss, and a two-point tiebreaker set loss, to the Southwest Christian Stars in the Section 2AA Championship in St. Peter. Since the section switched to at-large seeding in 2024, the championship game...

VOLLEYBALL: Tigers repeat as Section 2AA Runner-up

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The Belle Plaine Tigers volleyball season came to a heartbreaking end on Thursday, Nov. 5, with a 3-2 loss, and a two-point tiebreaker set loss, to the Sou

VOLLEYBALL: Tigers repeat as Section 2AA Runner-up

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