11/17/2009 10:11:00 AM Trojans take second at state
Wayzata’s Julia Doyle, right, goes for the ball against Alexandria during the Trojans 3-0 quarterfinal victory at Xcel Energy Center Thursday, Nov. 12. PHOTO: Mark Trockman
By Matt Thomas
Achieving success in the state tournament, regardless of the sport, is all about playing your best at the right time of the year.
The Wayzata girls' volleyball team saved some of its best for the Xcel Energy Center last week and came home with the second place medals - the best finish in school history.
The Trojans swept Alexandria in its quarterfinal match, squeaked out a thrilling victory over Burnsville in the semifinals and then ran into the two-time defending state champions from Shakopee in the championship match.
The Trojans were able to take a game from the heavily favored Sabers, but fell 3-1 to settle for second place.
Head coach Scott Jackson had taken teams to the state tournament in 2004, 2006 and 2008, but those teams all lost their quarterfinal match and were relegated to the consolation bracket.
"It was a lot of fun," Jackson said. "The girls played with a lot of heart and they found out they had a lot of character this week."
The Trojans were seeded third in the eight-team Class 3A field. They drew a 24-7 Alexandria team in the quarterfinals and had no trouble advancing with a 3-0 victory. Sophomore middle hitter Toni Okuyemi recorded three straight kills to give the Trojans a 25-19 victory in game one.
They went on to win games two and three by scores of 25-14 and 25-20. Okuyemi recorded 11 kills in the match, while senior Olivia Fiergola led the team with 13 kills.
Sophomore setter Julia Doyle added 33 assists. Junior Bri Adams led the team in digs with 14 and added two service aces.
After a relatively easy quarterfinal match, the Trojans knew there would be nothing easy about their semifinal match with No. 2 seed Burnsville and their star hitter Tori Dixon.
Dixon - a University of Minnesota recruit - recorded 25 kills in Burnsville's quarterfinal victory over Farmington.
The Trojans knew that stopping her would be impossible but that slowing her down would be essential to winning the match.
"We wanted to make sure we knew where she was at all times and to be prepared for the different shots she can hit," Jackson said. "Toni [Okuyemi] was matched up with her at the net almost the entire match and did an excellent job of doing what we asked of her."
Dixon did manage 24 kills, but that was on 61 attack attempts. The Trojans also forced her to commit 11 attack errors.
Dixon's 24 kills were also neutralized by Wayzata junior Jessica Kegel, who recorded a team high 21 kills. Okuyemi and Fiergola were also key to the offensive attack once again with 14 and 12 kills respectively.
"Jessica did a great job offensively in the semifinal match," Jackson said. "It was one of her best matches of the year. She took the match over and she did that at least a half a dozen times this year."
Doyle tallied 43 assists and three service aces in the victory. Seniors Kelsey Simmons and Kelsey Durocher both recorded double digit digs with 18 and 10 respectively.
"Both Kelseys played fantastically throughout the state tournament and Kelsey Simmons played her best match of the year against Burnsville," Jackson said.
Wayzata won the match in five games by scores of 16-25, 25-19, 25-20, 19-25 and 15-13.
In the fifth and deciding game the Trojans found themselves trailing 12-10 with their backs against the wall.
Two points later the game was tied at 12 after a kill by Fiergola and an ace by junior Kayla Jedele.
Burnsville took a 13-12 lead on a service error by Jedele, but the Trojans responded to win the final three points to clinch the match.
The Trojans took a 14-13 lead on attack errors by Dixon and Megan Scholl and then won the match when Adams delivered an ace.
The Trojans went into the state championship match against Shakopee as heavy underdogs.
The Sabers were looking for their third straight state title and were unbeatable this season.
They entered the state title match with a 31-0 record, having lost only three games all year.
Things did not look good for the Trojans after game one as the Sabers cruised to an easy 25-8 victory.
"After the first game I told the girls that's not who we are," Jackson said. "We knew that if we played well we were capable of giving them a great game and hanging with them."
The Trojans did play better in game two and became just the third team to take a game from the Sabers this season with a 26-24 victory.
The Trojans trailed the game 15-12, but rallied for a slim lead thanks to a kill by Kegel and three service aces by Doyle.
The game was tied at 24 when Kegel recorded another kill to give the Trojans a game point. The Trojans captured the game on the next point when the Sabers failed to get the ball over the net.
After evening the match the Trojans were unable to maintain the level of play that allowed them to win game two.
The Sabers collected themselves and recorded 25-8 and 25-14 victories in games three and four to win the match and the state title.
Okuyemi and Doyle were both named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the tournament.
The Trojans end the season with a record of 24-9. Jackson will lose five players to graduation this year including Fiergola, Simmons, Durocher, Chloe Rod and Kailene Perry.
"We're losing five great kids," Jackson said. "We'll have a lot to replace from a serve receive standpoint."
While the Trojans will have to replace Simmons and libero Durocher in their back row, they will have plenty of talent returning next year including Okuyemi, Kegel, Adams, Doyle, and middle hitter Coral Evans.
"I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't excited about this team's potential for next year," Jackson said.
