GROTON – Ava Nilsson is known for her ability to orchestrate the Warner offense. On Thursday night she also ignited it.

The sophomore setter set the tone for the evening by serving her team to a 16-1 lead in the opening set and the Monarchs were in control after that on the way to a 25-16, 25-10, 25-10 win over Aberdeen Roncalli in the semifinals of Region 1B. The victory propels Warner into the SoDak 16 next week.

Nilsson finished with five of her team’s 10 aces to go along with 27 set assists.

“She got us going,” said Warner coach Kari Jung, “and I think she got us settled in and that really helped get our game going.”

The Cavaliers were never able to get going on offense, because Warner’s serving kept them on the heels most of the match.

“I think the more aggressive we kept our serves the more it kept them out of system and it just works good on our part,” Nilsson said.

The Monarchs played with the lead the whole match, jumping out a 12-2 advantage in the second set, and a 12-4 lead in the third set.

Jennifer Aman lead a balanced attack with 11 kills, Kyleigh Schopp followed with nine, and Kyra Marcuson contributed five. The backrow was bolsted by Marcuson with nine digs and Courtney Bjorgaard with eight.

“Our defense was on. Courtney had a great game,” Nilsson said. “And our hitting was great. Jennifer put some great swings up there. And then our blocking was great. Kyleigh up in the middle, she got hands on everything. It was just a great game.”

In the middle of it all was Nilsson who found the right mix of hitters to set to.

“I think our kids were just coming in knowing that we had a lot of weapons in the front row and that if one girl wasn’t hitting that they would try something else,” Jung said. “Ava did a great job mixing it up.”

Again, it all started from the service line when the match got started.

“We had a really hard time controlling that serve to start the game,” said Roncalli coach Mandy Smid, “and it really set the tone for them for the night.”

Warner’s serving prevented the Cavaliers from mounting a serious challenge because they could never get string many points together.

“When you can’t get yourself into a rhythm it makes it really hard to get that momentum and energy on your side,” Smid said. “Warner had all the energy tonight.”

Ella Hanson had seven kills to lead Roncalli, which conclude its season with a 15-9 record.

The Cavaliers overcame a lot of adversity this year that resulted in a variety of rotations throughout the season.

“In reality there’s only one team that gets to end the season with a win so everybody kind of goes through this,” Smid said. “After all these ups and downs and the bumps along the road, I still feel like we’re winners at the end of it, that we were able to compete hard and get all of our pieces back together to end on a high note and still be able to compete at a good level together. It was a great season.”

Meanwhile the Monarchs are headed back to the SoDak 16 and taking plenty of momentum into the next round following a stellar performance against Roncalli.

Nilsson said that while there’s always things to work on, she likes how the team is playing right now.

“I think we can always make progress, fixing the little things, reducing our errors, but I definitely think we’re ‘on’ right now,” Nilsson said. “If we can keep pushing the gas pedal and keep working hard, it will be great.”

The second-seeded Monarchs will face Edgemont on Tuesday.

Jung said this year’s Class B field is as balanced as it’s been in many years.

“I would say this is Class B’s best year of volleyball that we’ve had in a long time,” Jung said. “It’s anybody’s game out there.”

Serving: Aberdeen Roncalli 31-37 2 aces (Jaidyn Feickert 3-4 1 ace, Maddie Huber 2-3 1 ace); Warner 66-74 10 aces (Ava Nilsson 25-27 5 aces, Kamryn Anderson 17-18 5 aces).

Hitting: Aberdeen Roncalli 53-70 12 kills (Ella Hanson 15-19 7 kills); Warner 62-77 32 kills (Jennifer Aman 17-24 11 kills, Kyleigh Schopp 15-18 9 kills, Kyra Marcuson 12-14 5 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Roncalli 68-68 10 assists (Olivia Hanson 54-54 9 assists); Warner (Nilsson 61-61 27 assists).

Digs: Aberdeen Roncalli 74 (Hayley Schmidt 16, Faith Danielson 16); Warner 37 (Marcuson 9, Courtney Bjorgaard 8).

Blocks: Aberdeen Roncalli 1 solo 6 assists (Ava Hanson 1 solo 2 assists); Warner 4 assists (Schopp 2, Peyton Fischer 1, Marcuson 1).

Records: Aberdeen Roncalli 15-9; Warner 29-5.