ASHWAUBENON - For a moment Friday morning, the Chippewa Falls McDonell volleyball team wildly teetered between exhilaration and exasperation.

It felt like a year. Maybe that was appropriate, considering an entire one lingered in limbo.

When a sophomore stepped to the line, the Macks finally stepped forward.

Sarah Schoch's ace on the sixth match point of the fifth set sealed a thoroughly exhausting, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 25-19, 16-14 victory over Manitowoc Lutheran in the WIAA Division 4 state semifinals at the Resch Center.

"At first, I thought it was an ace right away," Schoch said. "Then I saw it hit the net, and I knew we were going to take it home. I knew it was going to be us."

The Macks (41-3) will compete for a state championship in their first tournament appearance as a member of the WIAA. They face Wausau Newman, also a five-set winner Friday, in the title match at 10 a.m. today.

"We set our goals at the beginning of the season, and we didn't settle," Macks coach Kat Roesler said. "And there's a lot to be said about that. There are 11 girls on this team who are ready for a state championship."

They were almost left waiting.

After winning the first set in rally fashion, the Macks showed inconsistencies few other teams had the tools to expose this season. The worthy Lancers, taller at most every position, took charge with victories in the second and third sets - both were tied at 20-all or later. But a prerequisite victory in the fourth set allowed for a fifth that pushed everyone to the edge of their courtside folding chairs.

The Macks, riding momentum from a relatively lopsided fourth set, raced to a 6-1 lead in the fifth before 6-foot middle Kelly Hauf helped the Lancers (31-4) tie it at 7, 8 and 9. An electric, five-point run capped by Hannah Krejci's ace put the Macks in control of the back-and-forth fifth, which was a microcosm of the match. Roesler called a timeout when the Lancers had pulled within 14-12 only to watch them tie it at 14-all two points later.

"It almost felt like our team kind of relaxed, which sounds weird," Roesler said. "The pressure, it was back on them. We just kind of relaxed and did what we had to do. And we finished it."

A clutch kill by 5-foot-3 senior Ashley Zumbrock gave the Macks yet another chance to win, and Schoch didn't let the set last any longer with her nosedive serve on match point. It zipped up the Macks' fourth five-set win in as many attempts this season, including a regional finals victory over Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran.

"Sarah's a really strong server," said Macks junior setter Karley Wiensch, who had 58 assists for a team that hit .200 on Friday. "It was wide-open short, and I knew she could do it."

She did. Schoch's serve dropped sharply after crossing the center line, rattled off two Lancers in the front row and buried itself into the opposite side of the net, sending the Macks into a stomping celebration that almost sent them through the Resch Center floor.

"The feeling is just immense," Macks sophomore middle Jenn See said. "I can't even - well, I can believe it. We played as hard as we could. We put everything on the line tonight, and it feels great."

When the postmatch handshakes at the net ended, the first two Macks through the line turned, hugged and screamed. They were two sophomores who played like anything but.

Schoch and See, sophomores who rotate in the middle for the Macks, both were in the starting lineup Friday morning. Few players had as tremendous an impact. See finished with 12 kills, two blocks and kept the Macks afloat in the second set. Schoch added 11 kills, three blocks and the match-clinching ace.

"They have done so well this season," said Zumbrock, a senior who had 11 kills of her own. "They're huge at the net. They get so excited, they just pump everybody up, which is such a huge asset to our team."

Steady as ever, right-side hitter Christi Schoch led the Macks with 17 kills and hit .217 despite jamming the index finger on her left hand during the first set. Schoch, a senior, was in obvious pain early but played the rest of the match with her index and middle fingers taped together. She said she would be "fine" to play today.

"We're just super excited for tomorrow," Schoch said. "It just feels great."

The Macks will face a Wausau Newman team that came even closer to elimination Friday, if that's possible. Newman, making its third state tournament appearance, qualified for its first championship match by rallying from two sets down in a 16-25, 9-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-11 victory over Highland.

Newman (24-11), which advanced to state in Division 3 last season, placed third in the Marawood South Conference this season.

"We are just on top of the world right now," Zumbrock said. "We're so excited that we get to play in the championship game with Newman. We've played them before, and we've gotten to know them pretty well, so we're really excited."

For the Macks, their season will end - one way or another - the same way it started. In their first match of the fall, the Macks swept Newman in best-of-three format on their way to winning the Diocesan Tournament in Chippewa Falls. The Macks also won a tournament hosted by Newman in late September. The two teams did not meet again, but Newman finished fourth.

Those results couldn't matter less to Roesler, who is one victory away from winning a state title with the program her late mother, Debbie, built from scratch years ago.

"That means nothing," Roesler said. "It's tournament time. Everybody's playing different.

"I'm excited to prepare for another five-game match. It's going to be tough. Both teams are going to want it. It's the state championship. Who knows what could happen."

WIAA Volleyball State Tournament

Thursday through today at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon

Division 1

Friday's Semifinals

Muskego 3, Burlington 0

Kaukauna 3,Middleton 1

Today's Championship Match

Muskego (41-5) vs. Kaukauna (36-7), 5:30 p.m.

Division 2

Friday's Semifinals

Appleton Xavier 3, Sauk Prairie 0

Waukesha Catholic Memorial 3, Tomahawk 0

Today's Championship Match

Appleton Xavier (35-9) vs. Waukesha Catholic Memorial (38-9), 3 p.m.

Division 3

Friday's Semifinals

Cuba City 3, Auburndale 0

Grantsburg 3, Laconia 0

Today's Championship Match

Cuba City (35-3) vs. Grantsburg (35-1), 12:30 p.m.

Division 4

Friday's Semifinals

Wausau Newman 3, Highland 2

Chippewa Falls McDonell 3, Manitowoc Lutheran 2

Today's Championship Match

Chippewa Falls McDonell vs. Wausau Newman, 10 a.m.

MCDONELL 3, MANITOWOC LUTHERAN 2

McDonell def. Manitowoc Lutheran, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 25-19, 16-14. McDonell leaders: Christi Schoch 17 kills, 4 digs, 2 assists; Jenn See 12 kills, 2 solo blocks, 2 digs; Ashley Zumbrock 11 kills, 8 digs, 2 assists, 1 ace; Sarah Schoch 11 kills, 3 solo blocks, 1 ace; Hannah Krejci 8 kills, 9 digs, 2 assists; Karley Wiensch 58 assists, 16 digs, 2 kills, 2 aces; Ari Gardow 22 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace; Becca Zander 5 digs, 1 ace. Manitowoc Lutheran leaders: Kelly Hauf 22 kills, 12 digs, 4 solo blocks, 4 assists, 2 aces; Brianna Robley 14 kills, 10 digs, 1 solo block; Kelsi Daffner 14 kills, 20 digs, 1 assist; Emily Pankow 53 assists, 10 digs, 2 kills; Brianna Neumeyer 15 digs, 7 kills, 3 assists; Libby Spencer 9 digs, 1 ace; Erin Dittmar 2 kills, 4 digs, 1 solo block. Referees: Lynn Michek, Darin Wilken. Records: McDonell 41-3; Manitowoc Lutheran 31-4.