Trojan spikers end season against challenging Lakeville North

New Prague High School’s girls volleyball team went up against a challenging Lakeville North team in the Section 1AAAA semifinals Wednesday, Oct. 30. The Trojans fought hard, but their season ended in a 3-1 setback.

“Our match against Lakeville North was a great challenge, and it was great to see each player rise to the occasion,” said New Prague head coach Greg Sayuk.

The Panthers won the first set, 25-11.

“After we were caught a little off guard in the first set due to North shuffling their lineup, we settled in and went nearly point-for-point with them,” said Sayuk.

In the second set, the Trojans stayed close tying the score several times and staying within two points for most of it, although the Panthers pulled ahead to win, 25-21.

New Prague won the third set 25-20, scoring their first point after a back and forth. The Trojans tied the set at four-all and then pulled ahead with blocks and aces at one point leading 14-9. New Prague kept up its momentum to win.

“Our strong serving and passing game gave them fits, as we finished with 11 aces to their three,” said Sayuk.

Lakeville North ended the match, 25-16, although the Trojans kept things close, at one point tying the set 6-all with blocks by junior Kyla Klein and senior Katie Boulanger.

“Their length and athleticism at the net proved to be too much to stop for what was otherwise a strong and team-oriented defensive effort on our part,” said Sayuk. “Kyla Klein led the way for us on offense, while Alexis Ashley and Emerson Dillon had really strong games attacking, as well. Erin Busch did a great job putting our hitters in position to score all match, and also may have had her best defensive game of the season. Kira Brundage was fantastic in the back row, starting us off with good passes all night, in addition to making a ton of big digs along with Brie Malecha, Klein, and Dillon. On top of that, our blockers were spectacular despite being outsized, led by Katie Boulanger, Elle Neiderhiser, and Ashley. It was fun to see our team come together and battle - even after falling into a 0-2 hole - pushing a great team to their limits.”

For the match the unofficial statistics included...

To see more on this story pick up the November 7, 2024, print edition of The New Prague Times.