RAPID CITY – Warner was forced to take a slightly different path to victory Friday night, but the Monarchs have now reached the destination they have desired since the season started.

Warner dropped its first set in 18 matches before storming back to defeat Faulkton 13-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-10 in the semifinals of the Class B State Volleyball Tournament at The Monument.

The Monarchs are now back in the championship match of the tourney where they finished runner-up a year ago.

It was Faulkton that set the tone early and had the Monarchs searching for answers in the opening set.

“They took us out of system so terrible bad in the first set. We couldn’t get anything going and then our kids got down,” said Warner coach Kari Jung. “Give them credit. They had a lot of energy. I think they were playing hard for (injured Addison) Melius and they wanted it.”

Jung had a message for her players following that opening set.

“I said ‘Girls, it’s best of five for a reason. Just settle down and play our game. We need to get them out of system. They’re taking us out of system.’ I think that helped.”

The match soon turned around and Warner became the aggressor and sent the Trojans scrambling.

The Monarchs got their potent serving going, started to run a quick offense and changed the entire momentum in the match.

“I feel like our energy picked up a lot and we started playing together more than playing separately,” said Warner senior Jennifer Aman.

Shots that were going long or into the net in the first set started to find open spots on the floor as Warner got into a rhythm on offense which put major pressure on Faulkton.

“We were told to hit more cross instead of line and that put a lot of pressure on us,” Aman said, “but then once we started playing without thinking we did a lot better.”

Not only did the Monarchs rack up 13 aces, they pounded out 51 kills compared to just 20 for Faulkton. Warner also had 2 solo and 16 assisted blocks.

“They’re probably one of the best serving teams we see, and their offense is definitely one of the fastest we play,” said Faulkton senior Isabel Aesoph. “We’re not really used to that blocking.”

Warner jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third and a 6-2 advantage in the fourth to put Faulkton in a difficult position. While the Trojans were never able to recover, they didn’t roll over, either.

“They got in a good rhythm. We just couldn’t hang with them for a while,” said Faulkton coach Mallory Schlechter. “We still played tough. I wouldn’t say we just gave it to them. We tried really hard.”

In the end, though, the Monarchs just had too much firepower to be denied another trip to the state final.

Aman led the victory with 17 kills.

“She had a nice night,” Jung said. “She started a little slow. She was dropping her elbow and then she figured it out and got swinging. That helped us a ton.”

Aesoph led Faulkton with nine kills. The Trojans, 27-7, take on Platte-Geddes for third place at 12:30 this afternoon (Mountain time).

“We’re going to have to get out of this one quick,” Aesoph said, “and find a new source of momentum and go into that one with a whole lot of energy.”

The Monarchs, 32-5, square off against Colman-Egan in the championship match at 4 this afternoon.

Jung said the Hawks present some challenges.

“They are very athletic. They have a good lefthanded right side who can jump out of the gym,” she said. “We’re going to have to come ready right away.”

Warner is now on the doorstep of a coveted state title and Jung said her players have been motivated for the opportunity to play for that crown since day one.

“That’s been their goal all year,” Jung said. “Even when we dropped matches they still kept their on the prize, and I think that’s what they’re shooting for and they’ll give it all they’ve got.”

Serving: Faulkton 10 aces (Shayna Heitmann 4, Camryn Deiter 2, Isabel Aesoph 2, Carley Cotton 1, Gabby Kast 1); Warner 13 aces (Kamryn Anderson 5, Ava Nilsson 3, Lauren Marcuson 3, Kyra Marcuson 1, Peyton Fischer 1).

Hitting: Faulkton 20 kills (Aesoph 9, Cotton 6, Heitmann 3, Kelli Stoecker 2); Warner 51 kills (Jennifer Aman 17, Kyleigh Schopp 10, K. Marcuson 9, Anderson 8, Nilsson 5).

Setting: Faulkton 18 assists (Kast 14, Deiter 4); Warner 48 (Nilsson 42).

Digs: Faulkton 68 (Aesoph 16, Sydney Campbell 13, Cotton 12, Deiter 10); Warner 66 (K. Marcuson 20, Courtney Bjorgaard 13, Nilsson 9, L. Marcuson 6).

Blocks: Faulkton 10 assists (Kast 4, Aesoph 3, Cotton 1, Stoecker 1, Heitmann 1); Warner 2 solo 16 assists (Nilsson 2 solos 4 assists, Schopp 5 assists, Andereson 3 assists, K. Marcuson 2 assists, Fischer 2 assists).

Records: Faulkton 27-7; Warner 32-5.