Most coaches have a fairly standard answer when
asked if they were confident in their team’s ability to get to the state
tournament. It goes along the lines of, “Yes, absolutely, I knew the kids could
do it.”
Barnesville volleyball coach Megan Askegaard is
not one of them, at least this season. The Trojans are playing at state for the
first time in 39 years and Megan admitted Thursday that she didn’t expect it.
“I think this was one year that my
kids really proved me wrong,” she said. “We graduated a full starting squad
last year. You kind of pick those teams out that you think are going to take
you to the state tournament and this was not one of them. We kind of hit that
point in the middle of our season and they said, ‘You know what, we're sick of
losing. Let's turn this around,’ and they did from then on. So that's been fun
to bring 11 seniors with us to the state tournament.”
The Trojans came to state with a record
of 20-9 and fell to top-seeded Pequot Lakes 3-0 in Thursday’s Class 2A
quarterfinals. They will meet Belle Plaine in Friday’s consolation round.
When asked if there was a point
during the season when she was confident that a state berth was possible,
Askegaard said, “I don't know if I did, to be honest. We got the number one
seed in the section and you kind of go, ‘We're kind of in a good spot right now.’
We had Hawley (in the Section 8 semifinals), and they beat us last year to come
to the state tournament. So we wanted some redemption and we came out a little
hungry for that game. And once we got that one I think we kind of knew the end
was near and we could get this thing in our hands if we wanted it.
“It's still surreal. You really
don't take it all in until maybe that first game is over and you move on to the
next. It's been fun.”
Barnesville seniors Emily Riddle and
Emily Smith said the state tourney experience, including playing at Xcel Energy
Center, was very special.
“It's kind of unreal. We worked hard
for it and it really paid off,” Riddle said.
Smith added, “It's crazy. This big
gym, it’s awesome. We played so hard and we wanted this really, really bad. It
was really fun.”
Pequot Lakes played at state most
recently in 2019, so the coaches and a few players knew what to expect. With
Barnesville holding no such experience, that was an advantage for the Patriots.
“When you come down here, there is
just the unknown,” said Pequot
Lakes coach Christine Ganley. “Even
the elevator ride down (from the concourse to the court level). Some of us had
done it and the other kids knew about us doing it. We talked a lot about it to the
kids, about the process, and even the pregame things; you go in a locker room
and you're there for this amount of time and they don't let you on the floor until
a certain time. And it does matter. So I'm sure when Barnesville gets down here
again, they'll be even more ready.”
Five
Sets Is Worth It
In
one of the most compelling matches of the tournament, Concordia Academy
defeated Belle Plaine 3-2 in the 2A quarterfinals. The match was filled with the
ebb and flow of great competition, and the Beacons said they were ready to be
tested.
“Our team is very good at lifting
each other up,” senior Kyla McTeague said. “When the other team makes a really
good play we know to move on to the next play, we know to encourage each other
if someone makes a mistake. We go to the next play and I feel like the team is
very good at supporting each other and knowing that we can get the next one.
“In between sets we usually have a
quick team huddle without the coaches and a couple players usually step up and
we get our team going and fired up. And then when the coaches come in, we all
get calmed down and ready for the next set. I think those breaks and timeouts
in between really help our team.”
Concordia Academy will meet Pequot
Lakes in Friday’s 2A semifinals, with Cannon Falls and Annandale in the other
semifinal.
Class
4A Title Match Is Set
Wayzata
and Lakeville North posted victories in Wednesday’s Class 4A quarterfinals and
Thursday’s semifinals, setting up the state title match between them on
Saturday night.
The
semifinals in the other three classes will be played Friday.
That’s One Great Grandma
The busiest grandmother at the tournament might
be Shirley Mustar of Grand Rapids. She has two granddaughters playing this
week, and their teams went head to head in Wednesday’s Class 3A quarterfinals. Olivia
Mustar plays for Grand Rapids and Ellie Mustar plays for Mahtomedi; both
are seniors. Shirley played everything right down the middle for that match, wearing
a sweatshirt that bore the names and nicknames of both schools. Grand Rapids defeated
Mahtomedi 3-0.
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of
Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn
and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts.
Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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