Week 3: Star Performers from Across the State

<p>The third week of the Minnesota high school season is in the books and it was a busy one all across the state. Here are a few teams that boasted some impressive individual highlights from last week:</p> <p><em><strong>Prior Lake Lakers</strong></em><br /> Sophomore sensation and Minnesota commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31577" first="Julia" last="Hanson"]</strong> (OH | Prep Dig #1) helped the Lakers to a significant win over Chaska with a 3-2 result. The high-flying Hanson had 22 kills and 13 total digs to prove her value on both sides of the ball. Senior outside hitter <strong>Dezirae Spratt</strong> also had a great all-around effort with 14 kills, seven digs, and six total service aces to lead the team. <strong>Lainey Van Hecke</strong> (S | 2021) shared the setting duties and amassed 30 assists for the match. </p> <p><em><strong>BOLD Warriors</strong></em><br /> Senior setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="71671" first="Makayla" last="Snow"]</strong> (Prep Dig #43) had a big match for BOLD in achieving a triple-double in their win over Melrose last Tuesday. Snow totaled 38 assists, 14 digs, and 13 kills. Fellow senior and middle hitter <strong>Ashley Trongard</strong> (MH | 2020) was the beneficiary of several of Snow’s offerings as she terminated the ball for 14 kills, which equaled her 14 digs on the defensive side. <strong>Brenna Weiss</strong> (L | 2020) led the BOLD defense with 23 digs in the Warriors’ 3-2 victory.</p> <p><em><strong>Belle Plaine Tigers</strong></em><br /> Although losing to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 3-2 on Tuesday, the Tigers were not without some incredible individual effort in this back-and-forth match. Senior pin hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="57484" first="Mikayla" last="Coops"]</strong> (Prep Dig #40) led the offense with 26 kills (.316 attack efficiency), while scooping up 17 digs and delivering two service aces. Teammate <strong>Sarah Lenz</strong> (S | 2021) averaged 10.0 assists per set in delivering 50 total while leading the team defensively with 25 digs for the double-double. A third double-double was achieved by <strong>Morgan Kruger</strong> (OH | 2020) as she totaled 10 kills and 23 digs. She also contributed three of the team’s nine service aces. </p> <p><em><strong>Lakeville North Panthers</strong></em><br /> With a big 3-1 win over defending class AAA Champlin Park, the Panthers continue to stake their claim as a true contender for a berth in the state tournament and a legitimate shot at the crown. Explosive junior outside <strong>Maddy Hornyak</strong> (Prep Dig #14) led the offense once again in hammering 24 kills on a .255 efficiency clip. She also contributed 19 digs in the win. Senior libero <strong>Halle Wolf</strong> (Prep Dig #16) also earned a double-double with 24 digs and 11 assists as sophomore teammate <strong>Abby Jandro</strong> (S | 2022 | Prep Dig #15) was one dig shy of her own double-double with nine digs to go along with her 41 assists. Offensively, junior outside <strong>Savannah Polzin </strong>(OH | 2021) added 11 kills. </p> <p><em><strong>Hill-Murray Pioneers</strong></em><br /> The Pioneers used a balanced team effort to earn a 3-1 win over Hastings. Junior middle <strong>Grace Holm</strong> (MH | 2021) reached double figures in kills with 11 as her fellow classmates, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="72079" first="Alyssa" last="Isackson"]</strong> (OH | 2021 | Prep Dig #104) and <strong>Emma Lienemann</strong> (MH | 2021), each tallied eight kills. Senior <strong>Anna Gonzaga</strong> (RH | 2020) added seven kills while sophomore outside <strong>Anna Schaufhauser</strong> (RH | 2022) totaled six. The Pioneers’ setting role is shared among <strong>Cassie Schreier</strong> (S | 2021) and <strong>Adriana Mariani</strong> (S | 2020) with each dishing out 23 and 19 assists respectively. Isackson and junior libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="72081" first="Keely" last="Kurschner"]</strong> (L | 2021 | Prep Dig #33) each picked 26 digs to lead the defensive effort. </p> <p><em><strong>St. Louis Park Orioles</strong></em><br /> One of the best matches from last Thursday came down to the wire between two talented squads in St. Louis Park and St. Michael-Albertville. The Orioles of St. Louis Park were victorious in the five-set thriller that included 15-13 fifth set. Two Orioles’ attackers reached double figure kills, led by junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58052" first="Hannah" last="Howell"]</strong> (OH | 20210 | Prep Dig #51) with 14 kills (.371 attack efficiency) and sophomore <strong>Elsa Bergland</strong> (OH | 2022) with 10 kills. The junior middle tandem of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="72065" first="Kendall" last="Coley"]</strong> (MH | 2021) and <strong>Raegan Alexander</strong> (MH | 2021) added seven and six kills respectively, with Alexander attacking at a .462 percentage. Other standout individual efforts came from setter <strong>Mikaila Winward</strong> (S | 2020 | Prep Dig #120)) with 37 assists and the 17 digs from <strong>Addie Warg</strong> (OH | 2020). Berg added 11 digs to earn the double-double.</p>