The Helias volleyball team badly wanted to get to the Final Four this season.
The Lady Crusaders didn't make the destination of the Final Four their goal when practice began in late July. Actually, it had been about a year in the making, following a Class 3 sectional loss last October against Logan-Rogersville.
It took a sectional win against Aurora, followed by a three-set quarterfinal victory Saturday in a rematch against Logan-Rogersville, to reach the state semifinals for the second time in program history.
"For them, it wasn't revenge. It was redemption," Helias coach David Harris said. "They didn't think they played real well last year.
"After losing the first set, they could've folded, but they were very positive in the huddle between sets. They knew they made some uncharacteristic mistakes, and they knew if they cleaned those up that they would be right there."
Harris said the Lady Crusaders improved with each set against Logan-Rogersville, going from seven hitting errors in the first set to just two in the third set to go with 17 kills.
"As their confidence level went up, once they found that level, they stayed at it," he said. "We've been having a little problem with being on a roller-coaster ride, but they got up there and they just stayed up there."
That roller-coaster ride for Helias (31-4-1) ends this weekend in the Class 3 state tournament at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. It will be the Lady Crusaders' second Final Four appearance, having won the state title in 2014.
"For a whole year, they've been thinking about this," Harris said. "To see them achieve that goal was rewarding for the coaches. This group of girls deserved it."
Helias will face the other three semifinalists during round-robin play today. First up at 4 p.m. on Court 1 is Lutheran South (30-4-2), the defending Class 3 state champion making its fifth semifinal appearance.
The Lady Lancers graduated two all-staters - including All-American Leketor Member-Meneh, who is playing this fall at Missouri - but return another all-stater in Livie Sandt. The junior setter leads the team with 229 kills and 409 assists.
"They're a very scrappy team," Harris said. "I don't think they're real big, so our height might be a challenge for them. They're very scrappy at defense and do a good job of keeping the ball in play."
The Lady Crusaders will then face Pleasant Hill (28-6-1) at 6 p.m. on Court 1. The Chicks were state runner-up to Lutheran South last season and are making their third straight Final Four appearance.
Pleasant Hill is led by senior outside hitter Logan Gish, a returning all-state player who leads the Chicks with 266 kills.
"When we played them two years ago, she tore us up," Harris said. "We know she's going to be a force to be reckoned with."
Helias wraps up round-robin play at 8 p.m. on Court 2 against Incarnate Word (18-14-1), which is making its state-record 24th appearance in the Final Four.
The Red Knights dropped from Class 4 to Class 3 prior to the 2016 season. The 11-time state champion knocked off Borgia in three sets in the quarterfinals Saturday.
"Incarnate Word is kind of the wild card," Harris said. "We weren't really expecting to see them, but they must be playing well at the end of the season. They've been one of the top programs in the state. They've got a lot of history on their side."
Harris credits Helias' success this season to its strength of schedule, which fielded 11 district champions. The Lady Crusaders' four losses and one tie came against Class 4 teams playing in the Final Four this weekend, or against Class 4 teams that suffered state playoff losses to St. Joseph's Academy.
"That's one of the things we wanted to do this year," Harris said. "Last year, our end-of-season schedule was kind of weak, so we wanted to beef it up a little bit and went to the Ozark Tournament. That really helped us."
Helias also defeated five out-of-state schools. Briarcrest Christian (Tenn.) was a state runner-up and Har-Ber (Ark.) plays for a Class 7A state title Saturday.
"This is probably the toughest schedule we've ever had," Harris said. "To win 31 games and only lose four in this schedule, I'm impressed with what they've done."
Helias has the most returning all-staters among the semifinalists. Junior outside hitter Ellie Rockers, senior outside hitter Hannah Borchelt and senior outside hitter Regan Burns each made all-state second team last season.
Rockers leads a balanced front-line attack with 207 kills. Senior libero Bradi Berhost has 441 digs and junior setter Jada Oldham has a team-high 421 assists.
Helias' 6-2 offense has led to some balanced statistics this season.
"Teams haven't seen six hitters like what we have," Harris said.
The top two teams to come out of today's round-robin competition will play for the Class 3 state championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The remaining two teams will play for third place at 6 p.m.
But before either of those matches take place, the Lady Crusaders still have three key matches today that will determine their fate Saturday.
"Right now, they've got laser focus," Harris said.