St. Philip Knock Off #1, Back To Class D Finals

The St. Philip Fighting Tigers looked to continue their quest for a 10th straight Class D State title at Kellogg Arena Thursday afternoon at Kellogg Arena.

In order to do it, the second-ranked Tigers would have to battle the top-ranked Plymouth Christian Eagles, a squad they have not played at Kellogg Arena since the 2010 State Final.

The match swayed back and fourth between the two squads, with the largest lead among either team being six points. Both teams would rally to even the scores in each set.

Plymouth Christian would withstand St. Philip in Game 1, prevailing 26-24. The Tigers would come back and win the next two games, 25-23 and 25-16.

After trailing in the fourth set 16-10, Tigers head coach Vicky Groat called a time out that would give the right amount of drive to bring the defending champs back in the game.

St. Philip would eventually tie the game at 20, and would surge into the lead. It took three match points, but the Tigers would eventually prevail 28-26 in the fourth game to take the best-of-five match, 3-1.

The Tigers now await the winner of the Leland-Crystal Falls Forest Park match for the Class D State Final Saturday morning. The Tigers topped Leland last year for their ninth straight championship.