Regular season records mean very little once the postseason arrives. Every point carries extra weight, every decision comes with glory or consequence, and the margin for error disappears in win-or-go-home volleyball.
On Tuesday night, the No. 7-seeded St. Clair Cyclones proved they had the poise to survive October drama, outlasting the No. 10 Glencoe-Silver Lake (GSL) Panthers in a five-set Section 2AA quarterfinal thriller.
Heading into the tournament, St. Clair Coach Ashley Sander emphasized that preparation focused on the finer details. “We continued to work on our coverages and ensuring we are in the right position,” she said. “Ultimately, we want to keep the gas pedal down and play our style.”
That style featured heavy artillery at the net and relentless back-row defense against a resilient GSL squad that came in having won three of its last five matches.
Set 1: Heavy Hitters Trade Blows
Payton “Bazooka” Blount set the tone early for the Cyclones, opening the match with a line kill down the left side followed immediately by a solitary block at the net. Haddie Jobe landed a rainbow serve for an ace, and Ashlyn DeMartini established the team’s defensive intensity, crashing into the padded back wall to save a possession.
Glencoe-Silver Lake countered behind its towering net duo of Jordyn Kube and Brooke Mickolichek, keeping the score deadlocked through the early frames. However, a five-point run sparked by the Brekke sisters—a Stella stuff and a Hannah hammer—pushed St. Clair ahead 11-6.
The Panthers clawed back within one at 21-20, but Madison Winkler walloped a finish down the floor to regain momentum. Blount boomed another kill to mark set point, and a precise set from Charlotte Dauk found the corner to secure the opening frame, 25-21.
Set 2: Panthers Strike Back
GSL pounced quickly in the second set, utilizing lethal serving and fierce attacks from Mickolichek to sprint out to a 7-1 advantage.
St. Clair chipped away behind DeMartini’s signature rolling kills and precision strikes from Blount. Trailing 21-14, the Cyclones made a furious late-set charge. Behind Winkler’s net play, a joint block from Blount and DeMartini, and three straight defensive stops, St. Clair erased five set points to pull within two at 24-22.
Blount crushed her 13th kill of the night to make it 24-23, but the Panthers managed to squeeze through the final point, taking Set 2 by a score of 25-23 and tying the match at 1-1.
Set 3: Net Defense Reclaims Control
Re-establishing their presence up front, the Cyclones surged early in the third set. DeMartini and H. Brekke teamed up to stuff an attack at the net, followed immediately by another joint block from DeMartini and Winkler to lift St. Clair to an 11-7 cushion.
Glencoe-Silver Lake stayed within striking distance midway through the set, but Blount’s service ace gave St. Clair a 19-15 lead. The Cyclones closed on a 4-1 run, capped by a DeMartini devastator, taking Set 3 with a decisive 25-18 win.
Set 4: Glencoe Forces a Decider
The Panthers once again jumped out to a 4-0 start in the fourth frame. St. Clair stayed within range thanks to floating sets from H. Brekke and scrappy floor defense from Cheyenne Wallin, who absorbed scorching attacks from Glencoe’s front row all night.
Wallin landed an ace directly between Panther defenders to bring the score closer, and Winkler elevated high for a block to keep the pressure on. However, late unforced errors created separation and an overserve sealed the frame for the Panthers at 25-20, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.
Set 5: Race to 15
With season survival on the line, Set 5 became a battle of attrition. The teams traded blows point-for-point, leveling the score at 2, 3, 4, and 5.
St. Clair broke the stalemate with a 4-1 run. DeMartini dropped in a clutch ace, and Blount took complete control of the floor, pounding home back-to-back kills—including her 21st and 22nd of the evening—to vault the Cyclones ahead 10-6.
GSL put together a late 3-point run to pull within 12-9, but Blount slipped her 23rd kill past the block to maintain the edge. Holding match point at 14-11, St. Clair weathered one final Panther rally before an attack into the net ended the battle at 15-13. Emotions poured out of several of the Cyclone seniors, who will live to battle between the posts for at least one more match.
Box Score & Key Performers
- Match Score: St. Clair 3, Glencoe-Silver Lake 2
(25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-13) - Payton Blount: 23 Kills, 2 Aces, 15 Digs, 4 Blocks
- Ashlyn DeMartini: 7 Kills, 1 Ace, 23 Digs, 3 Blocks
- Haddie Jobe: 24 Set Assists, 14 Digs, 1 Ace
- Charlotte Dauk: 16 Set Assists, 7 Digs, 1 Ace
- Cheyenne Wallin: 10 Digs, 2 Aces
- Madison Winkler: 5 Kills, 5 Digs, 2 Blocks
- Hannah Brekke: 4 Kills, 5 Blocks
- Stella Brekke: 4 Kills, 5 Blocks
On to the Semifinals
By limiting the damage from Glencoe-Silver Lake’s outside hitters down the stretch, St. Clair survived a thriller to open Section 2AA play.
The seven-seeded Cyclones will now turn their attention to Thursday, October 29 when they travel into hostile territory to face the No. 2 seed Belle Plaine Tigers. Belle Plaine enters the semifinal matchup with a 19-8 record coming off a 3-0 sweep of Blue Earth in their quarterfinal matchup.
