The Pequot Lakes High School volleyball team has taken quite the crazy
ride in recent years. In 2019 the Patriots ended a 25-year state tournament
drought by qualifying in the Class 2A field, where they were defeated in the
quarterfinals. With lots of experience and talent returning, the stage was set for
a big run in 2020.
That’s when the pandemic hammer dropped. There was no state tournament
in 2020 due to Covid, which was a difficult pill to swallow.
“Everyone felt sorry for us because they knew we had a
great team,” said Christine Ganley, who is in her seventh year as the coach at
Pequot Lakes.
In 2021 the Patriots came oh so close to another state
appearance, losing a five-set heartbreaker in the Section 6AA championship
match to Sauk Centre, which went on to capture the state title. But finally,
last season, Pequot Lakes made it back to state and advanced to its first state
championship match before falling to Cannon Falls at Xcel Energy Center.
With a record of 91-20 since the beginning of the 2019
season, and again with plenty of talented players back, the 2023 season could
be another season to remember for the Patriots.
At the conclusion of last year’s state tournament,
then-juniors Ella Kratochvil and Grace Hoffard were named to the all-tournament
team. Ganley said that helped light a fire as thoughts turned to 2023.
“There is a lot of optimism,” she said. “The nice
thing is we’ve always talked about how every team has to grow every season and they
have to make the team their own. … We talked a lot to this year’s seniors, that
it’s their job to work on a positive work ethic and what it takes to make a
great season.”
The Patriots know all about great seasons, in volleyball
and beyond. Most of the volleyball players are involved in one or two other
sports, and Pequot Lakes has been on a strong postseason run in multiple
sports.
Ganley said, “I asked the seniors this summer, ‘How
many of you have been in a game to go to state?’ All of them raised their hand.
They’ve gone to state in volleyball, basketball, softball, track and golf. You
take all those moments with you into this season. Not many teams can say that, but
we have athletes who have been in high-pressure situations in two or three sports.”
As the regular season nears, Pequot Lakes is ranked
second in Class 2A by the
Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association, with Cannon Falls No. 1. The
Patriots will open the season at Wadena-Deer Creek on Aug. 29, with high hopes
for the conclusion of the campaign, buoyed by memories of a year ago.
“Most of us
had just been to the state tournament to watch, and seeing that as a kid, you're
like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to do that someday,’ ” said senior libero Kelsi
Martini. “So knowing that was something we can work for, I think last year we
all just competed in practice. And we were like, ‘OK, we want to do this.’ And
then our goals just kept becoming bigger.”
None of the returning
players have any problems finding motivation for 2023 after coming within one
match of a state title.
“The feeling
we had after our last game last season in the state championship, I think that
brings a lot more motivation this year for all of us,” Kratochvil said. “We
have a lot of returning players that were included in all of that.”
Going to
state is rare for any team in any sport, and advancing all the way to a state
championship game is very rare. The Patriots treasure their memories from the
2022 season.
“It
was fun and so full of joy. I was happy for these girls,” Ganley said. “The year
before we lost by two points in the third set to Sauk Centre (in the section
final), and they won it all.
Taking that into last fall, the kids were on a mission;
‘We aren’t going to let that happen again, we’re not going to lose by two
points to go to state.’ They were determined. And when we were at state they
were on another mission, with so much joy and happiness for the kids. They just
had so much fun.”
--MSHSL senior content creator 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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