Langdon Area/Munich erases 2-0 match deficit to win sixth state volleyball championship

BISMARCK — Down two sets to none, the Cardinals’ path to a repeat championship hit a major roadblock.

After losing 25-17 in the first set, they battled in the second. They even had leads of 20-17 and 23-22.

But they dropped the final three points. Langdon Area/Munich was in a hole, one set away from having to settle for runner-up.

“Our coach always has the motto that if you can win one, you can win two,” LA/M sophomore Emma Hall said. “And as soon as we got some momentum at the end of the second set, we knew we could do it.”

So the Cardinals went to work. They’re a young team, and perhaps their youth showed in those first two sets. Especially in the first, when they made an uncharacteristic amount of errors and dropped the last five points.

But for a team that only has one senior — fueled by a plethora of eighth, ninth and 10th-graders — they sure have a lot of big-game experience.

“We’ve been down before,” Cardinals head coach Rich Olson said. “And I didn’t see any panic in anybody’s eyes. It’s just like, ‘Hey, we need to play better.’”

Olson has coached this team for 30 years. The Cardinals have won 21 region championships in his tenure.

But as LA/M (39-5) clawed back to win a 3-2 thriller over Medina-Pingree/Buchanan (27-8) at the Bismarck Event Center on Saturday, Olson achieved a first in his career: state titles in two straight seasons.

“I’ve been around forever,” Olson said. “So yeah, it does [feel different]. We’ve had a chance at it a few times. We’ve never been able to do that. And so, to do it in this fashion is just amazing. And I’m so proud of them.”

M-P/B was in the volleyball championship match for the first time ever. It was going for its first state title in any sport. Despite the loss, senior Brynn Sorenson was named Class B Senior Athlete of the Year and head coach Jacie Connell Coach of the Year.

Langdon — and its various co-ops — now owns sole possession of the most Class B volleyball championships with six overall. It was the second state championship this fall for LA/M, which also won its fourth football title in the last eight years.

The Cardinals kept the tradition of this program alive.

“We’re all pretty young, and we’ve been playing together for a really long time,” Hall said. “We’ve all been very dedicated to the sport. We work on it all year long. We have a hard offseason, so it’s good to see it pay off.”

For the third day in a row, the Cardinals’ victory required five sets. Early on, the Thunder’s hitting duo of Sorenson and Destiny Opp was outpacing them. Sorenson and Opp tallied 24 and 19 kills, respectively.

But, as Olson reminded his team: It starts with winning one set.

LA/M kept the third set close. It trailed 10-7 before winning four points in a row.

And then things started clicking.

Hall had multiple kills and an ace. Hilary Haaven did her thing from up front. Mya Swanson had a diving return and a kill down the middle, stretching the Cardinals’ lead to 22-18.

Haaven, LA/M’s leader in kills and digs, made a miraculous save to set up another Hall kill. Swanson finished a 25-19 win with one of her signature aces.

So the Cardinals were still in it. But they had more work to do.

“We kind of got our serving and passing down,” Hall said. “That’s what was killing us in the first two sets. And we knew that we just had to focus, let the nerves out and just play.”

In the fourth set, LA/M again had to grind through it. The Cardinals trailed 10-8 after Sorenson handled hard hits from Haaven and Kemi Morstad.

But they exploded for a 9-0 run from there. Morstad’s serving and Taya Feist’s blocking fueled the run, which had the Cardinals picking up energy on their sideline.

LA/M wrapped up a 25-16 win. And just like that, the Cardinals headed to where they thrived on Thursday and Friday: a do-or-die, for-all-the-marbles fifth set.

This time, it didn’t come as easily as the prior two blowouts. The Cardinals won seven straight to go up 7-2, but M-P/B clawed back to make it a two-point set.

After a block by Morstad, LA/M led 14-11. It had three chances to win a championship.

The Thunder fended off one match point before a service error sealed the deal, 15-12. The Cardinals formed a dogpile on the floor. The LA/M student section — decked in bright yellow — swarmed the court to join them.

There were hugs, tears and fists of triumph. Langdon, statistically the most successful Class B volleyball program in the state of North Dakota, had just secured another trophy for its collection.

Haaven had three consecutive kills in the winning set. She hardly seemed fazed by the moment.

“She’s a rare type,” Olson said. “You don’t see too many 14-year-olds that can play with that type of calmness and poise.”

Haaven added that she tries to be monotone on the court, and that it fits her personality in general.

The freshman led LA/M with 23 kills on Saturday and 74 in the three-day tournament. She was a big part of last year’s championship run as an eighth-grader. She’s one of the best players in the state as a ninth-grader.

“It’s insane,” Hall said of her young teammate. “Like, I drive her to practice and school every day because she doesn’t even have her license. It’s crazy. It’s so inspirational to see. And I know how hard she works, and it’s great to see that it’s paying off for her. I’m super excited for her future.”

It’s not often a freshman has already been a starter on two state championship teams.

“I don’t think that’ll hit me for a while,” Haaven said.

Haaven was one of three LA/M selections on the all-state tournament team. The other two were Feist — with 14 kills, 29 blocks and 29 digs overall — and Morstad, with 10 kills, 18 blocks, eight aces, 41 digs and 117 assists.

“Kemi Morstad, without her, this wouldn’t be possible,” Olson said. “She’s been outstanding for us all year.”

Ratzlaff, the lone senior, totaled 74 digs in the tournament.

“Raeleigh really is an incredible leader,” Olson said. “And she played her best volleyball here as a senior.”

As young and talented as the Cardinals are, they won a championship largely without two of their key players: Aubrey Badding and Avery Lorenz. Both were on the bench for moral support. But they each missed significant time with injuries.

Badding was an all-region player on last year’s championship team as a sophomore.

“She was a big inspiration for us,” Hall said. “We kind of all wanted to do this for her. So it’s exciting to be able to play with her next year. It’s sad that we’re losing Raeleigh, but we are gaining her and [Lorenz].”

Hall had 13 kills on Saturday to finish with 31 for the tournament. With Badding’s season-ending Achilles injury, Olson praised Hall for the way she filled in.

“Emma Hall needed to kind of step into her spot as a middle,” Olson said. “And it took her a while, because she’d never played middle before. So I give her a lot of credit. She learned the position, and she became kind of a shot maker for us. And she came up with some huge, huge kills.”

Badding and Erika Bakke are the only juniors on the roster. This year’s championship group includes five sophomores, five freshmen and three eighth-graders.

And they’ll all be back to go for the three-peat next fall.

“We do have a lot of youth, and we’re really excited to get our injured players back,” Olson said, “as well as just to see them mature and evolve and get better. Because we know they’re not a finished product. I think these girls have a lot of drive, and I’m fortunate as a coach to have competitive kids in my program right now.”