Fifth-seeded New Life Academy fell behind in its Class 2A semifinal and could not recover as top-seeded Hawley swept the Eagles in straight sets Friday night at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

Fresh off a five-set thriller, New Life rolled into the match with a chance to knock out the Nuggets, the reigning Class 2A champs. Instead, Hawley took care of business 25-17, 25-15, 25-23.

Nuggets head coach Kathleen Rustad said there is “confidence” within this group, with experience from state title games in various sports.

“They’ve been in the state championship for softball, too, multiple times,” Rustad said. “So when you get into a tight (situation), whether it’s a match or a game or a set or an inning or whatever, it’s just like, all right, next play. They just know how to do it. They’ve g

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