Monroe Catholic volleyball coach Mike Lessley thought he might have a heart attack. Grace Christian coach Connie Weisenfelder was so into the match she forgot to breathe.

The Class 3A state championship semifinal between Monroe Catholic and Grace Christian wasn't safe viewing for anyone with health problems.

In the end, the Rams from Fairbanks outlasted the gritty Grizzlies, fighting off a pair of match points on their way to a 25-23, 25-17, 11-25, 18-25, 18-16 victory Friday at West High. The win puts Monroe into today's championship match against defending champion Anchorage Christian, which swept Dillingham in Friday's other semifinal.

"People who know me, they know about my heart," Lessley said. "And if I had any hair left, I would've pulled it all out."

The Rams trailed 15-14 in the fifth set after being called for a line violation, but fended off match point and tied things when an attack by Monroe outside hitter Bella Evans just rolled over the net.

A huge kill by Grace's Megan Barnes gave the Grizzlies another match point at 16-15, but this time an Evans block kept Monroe in the match. Monroe took a 17-16 lead when Grace hit the ball out of bounds and then claimed victory with a block by Sabrina Mariutto.

"It was very scary. It was just crazy," said Monroe senior Katie Young, whose presence at the net disrupted Grace's offense. "We just had to calm ourselves down. We knew as soon as we got one good pass we were OK."

The Grizzlies also fought off two match points in the fifth set, turning a 14-12 deficit into a 15-14 lead. But they weren't able to complete their rally after dropping the first two sets of the match.

"It was completely nerve-wracking, but that's what this game is all about. Those are the most exciting games, the most fun for sure," Weisenfelder said. "There was one point where I didn't breathe. It was a long rally and I didn't take a breath."

Considering how long some of the rallies were during the match, it's lucky Weisenfelder didn't pass out.

Until the final few points of the fifth set, neither team seemed to strain under the pressure of playing in the state semifinals. Long rallies were the norm as players on both sides made incredible diving saves and often ranged far off the court to track down balls.

"Grace Christian is a fantastic team," Lessley said. "It was just back-and-forth, back-and-forth. That was a great game for spectators, but a killer for coaches."

Young pounded 17 kills and was a game-changer with 11 blocks for the Rams.

"They did a great job on the block and their libero (Melissa Lynch) picked up everything," Weisenfelder said.

Ashley King added seven kills and five blocks, Gabrielle Gilbertson smacked seven kills and had three blocks and Mariutto added six kills and two blocks for the Rams.

"We work a lot on our blocks," Lessley said. "The blocking really dictated the momentum of the game. And in the first two games our back row did a good job, but they fell asleep the next two games. But when crunch time came we had the key blocks and the key spikes we needed."

For the Grizzlies -- last season's state runner-up -- Allison Pargeter has a great all-around match, finishing with 45 assists, five kills and 32 digs. Danis Henderson smashed 16 kills and had six blocks. Barnes drilled 18 kills and librero Lydia Vilce finished with an amazing 51 digs.

ACS 3, Dillingham 0

Anchorage Christian strolled back into the championship match, rolling to a 25-18, 25-15, 25-13 sweep of Dillingham.

The first set was tied 7-7 early and ACS held a slim 15-13 lead before pulling away. The Lions then used early runs to take control of the next two sets.

"Usually it takes us a game to warm up," ACS coach Crystal Dyson said. "We've got a lot of first-game losses this year. I think our girls played very well. They have been here before. They kept their heads and played smart volleyball."

Debbiey Simmers crushed 11 kills to lead the ACS attack. Karley Madren added eight kills and Chantell Bennett finished with 20 assists.

"The girls were pretty impressed with Simmers," Dillingham coach Helen Smeaton said.

Dillingham met ACS in a tournament earlier this year, playing one set in which they lost 25-19.

"We've done better against them, but it is hard to be disappointed when you lost to a team like ACS," Smeaton said. "If we could've gotten that first game it could've been different. Momentum is everything. We had it, but we couldn't hang on."

Kristin Smeaton hammered eight kills and Kali Eveslage and Rachel Sorenson each had five for the Wolverines.

"They are a scrappy team," Dyson said. "I told the girls going into the third set that Dillingham is a tough team. They are not going to quit and roll over."

Consolation matches

Petersburg rallied to earn a 24-26, 25-9, 18-25, 25-17, 15-13 victory over Delta Junction and will face Mt. Edgecumbe in the fouth-place match today at 9 a.m.

Mt. Edgecumbe swept Kotzebue 25-19, 26-24, 25-21.

Find Richard Larson online at adn.com/contact/rlarson or call 257-4335.

ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Class 3A volleyball

At West High

Friday's Results

ACS def. Dillingham 25-18, 25-15, 25-13 Monroe def. Grace 25-23, 25-17, 11-25, 18-25, 18-16 Petersburg def. Delta 24-26, 25-9, 18-25, 25-19, 15-13 Mt. Edgecumbe def. Kotzebue 25-19, 26-24, 25-21

Today's matches

Fourth place 9 a.m. -- Petersburg vs. Mt. Edgecumbe

Third place 12:30 p.m. -- Dillingham vs. Grace Championship 5:30 p.m. -- Anchorage Christian Schools vs. Monroe

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