Blaine's varsity volleyball team this year is
shaping up to be a different squad than the 2006
team that won the Section 4AAA title and placed
third at State.
With just one returning
varsity senior, head coach Celeste Gorman would
still like her team to repeat as section champions
and return to the state tournament.
"We
have our work cut out for us," Gorman said. "We're
going to have to work hard."
The Bengals
were a more experienced team last year with 10
seniors. They carried a solid season and a 26-3
record into State where they had both success and
disappointment.
"It was a goal all season
long to get to State," Gorman said. "It was a
pretty amazing experience for all of them. They
saw their hard work pay off."
After
sweeping the Hibbing Bluejackets, three games to
zero, in the first round at State, Blaine lost a
heartbreaking semifinal 3-2 up against Lakeville
North. The Bengals had held a two-games-to-none
lead in the semifinal before their offense and
passing fell apart.
"Our passing broke
down," Gorman said. "We just didn't seal the
deal."
The next day, the Bengals earned a
bittersweet victory over Eagan, 3-1, to claim the
Class AAA third-place trophy. They were
disappointed over the loss to Lakeville North and
it was hard for them to even get up and play a new
match, Gorman said.
"[The next day] we
realized we should've been in the championship
game," Gorman said. "We wouldn't have settled for
less than third place at that point."
Team
captain Jessica Granquist is the only returning
senior this fall with any varsity playing
experience. She contributed to the team's
outstanding season last year, and was very happy
to be a part of the 2006 state
tournament.
"I was happy just to be there,"
Granquist said. "I thought it was so much fun, and
I just really, really liked it."
Now the
squad will go from having 10 seniors last season
to bringing back only two players with varsity
game experience for the upcoming season. The team
will have a couple seniors and sophomores, and a
balance of juniors to try and bring Blaine back to
State. Bengal junior Ari Newhorter, one of the
team's "biggest offensive weapons," according to
Gorman, will most likely be sitting out most of
the regular season. Newhorter tore her ACL during
volleyball club play in May.
Granquist
hopes to bring the rest of the team together to
perform well in the conference and "hopefully to
be above .500."
"We're just going to have
to step it up this year," she
said.
Granquist has been a three-year
varsity starter for Blaine and a three-year
all-conference player. She hopes to get back to
the state tournament, but won't be too
disappointed if it doesn't happen, she said. By
focusing on moving the ball around the court and
being a smarter team, Granquist said that will
help the Bengals to become better.
One of
the team's major rivals has come from Andover,
which won the section title in 2005. Andover
defeated Blaine in five games in the 2005 section
final to earn a trip to State. Blaine returned the
favor by beating the Andover in another five-game
duel in 2006. The section championship earned
Blaine its first trip to the state tournament
since 1997, and only the fourth in school
history.
The Bengals will still try to
compete strong against conference rivals such as
Anoka, Champlin Park and Andover, but this year
Blaine won't have to play against Andover for a
third straight time in the section finals because
Andover, along with Anoka, has been moved to
Section 7AAA. Blaine and other Northwest Suburban
Conference teams will be competing in Section 5AAA
this season.
"We have a really tough
conference," Gorman said.
Practices began
the week of Aug. 13 and the Bengals have been
working hard as well as scrimmaging. They travel
to open their season with matches Aug. 28 at
Woodbury and Aug. 30 at Park Center. They play at
Andover Sept. 13 before hosting Duluth East on
Sept. 17.
The Bengals have the talent, it's
just a matter of which players will step up this
season, Gorman says. Drive, determination and
giving 100 percent at each practice will help the
team reach its goals for the season.
While
Gorman would like to see her team repeat the 2006
success, she knows her team is
inexperienced.
"We have a really tough
schedule this year," Gorman said. "Our goal is
going to be to stay focused on a constant
improvement. I don't know what to expect."
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