Hawley defended its Class 2A title in dramatic fashion Saturday in St. Paul, rallying from a two-set deficit to top Chatfield in five sets: 20-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-16, 15-8.

The champions responded as such when backed into a corner, dominating play over each of the final three sets. Katie Vetter had 15 kills to lead Hawley’s offense.

But Hawley’s greatest strength was simply playing a cleaner match than Chatfield, which tallied 10 attack errors in the third set, 12 in the fourth and six in the fifth.

New Life Academy placed third, topping Albany in four sets. Marisa Michaelis paced the Eagles with 18 kills, while Alexa Lilly added 14.

Top-seeded Mayer Lutheran won its second straight state title via a three-set sweep of Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, winning 25-17, 25-15, 25-23.

Mayer Luthera

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