Minnewaska Area Lakers: #12 Seed Sweeping Their Way to the Section 3AA Finals

Here is what the #12 seeded Minnewaska Area Lakers have accomplished through the first three rounds of the Section 3AA bracket: <ul> <li>Round of 16 = 3-0 sweep of #5 seed Eden Valley-Watkins</li> <li>Quarterfinals = 3-0 sweep of #4 seed Redwood Valley</li> <li>Semifinals = 3-0 sweep of #1 seed New London-Spicer</li> </ul> With an overall record of 13-9, the Lakers have been the biggest surprise of the 2019 postseason march towards the state tournament. With one more team standing in their way of reaching the final weekend of the high school season, Minnewaska has been making believers of more and more volleyball enthusiasts as they continue to knock off some great teams in convincing fashion. As they are playing their best volleyball at the most important time we can expect they will take that effort and confidence into the biggest match of the season when they face 2018 class AA state runner-up and #2 seeded Marshall on Saturday at SMSU. With one of the West Central area’s best athletes leading the way, the Lakers are a veteran team and have increasingly been getting more efficient contributions from others around the floor. They are coached very well as they play good defense and are smart offensively from match to match. Add in that they also serve the ball very strategically and this makes for a very challenging opponent for any team. The following is analysis of some of their core athletes: [player_tooltip player_id="71687" first="Ellie" last="Danielson"] - 5’11 | MH | 2020 At 5’11, may be considered undersized for a middle but she plays much bigger as she is athletic and gets up off the floor quickly with good elevation. She is a relentless attacker regarding her preparation to be available. As she carries a heavy work load for this group, she gets rewarded often in the offense for her hard work in transition to get off the net quickly with good location of the ball and ability to heat with good heat. She also creates good spacing relative to her setter and the net so she can use her tools to move the ball around off of her arm. She is committed to Minnesota State-Mankato will take with her a good range of skills as she is also very effective at the net blocking and defensively in the back grow. In their recent win over New London-Spicer, she hammered home 19 kills, collected seven digs, and added three blocks, all in three sets. Sara Geiser - 5’8 | S | 2020 Geiser provides stability for this team in her effort, leadership, and in controlling the offensive distribution. As Danielson is their primary offensive option, she gets others involved in ways they can be successful due to her ability to locate the ball well for them. She also can be offensive when she needs to be with good court sensibility to know when and where to place the ball. At 5’8 she is also effective as a blocker as she gets off the floor with a good seal at the tape. Her athleticism also contributes to some big plays with good range and pursuit of the ball defensively in the back row. Versus NLS she had 33 assists for a terrific 11 assists per set average, further indicating the Lakers’ offense was highly effective against the Section 3AA top seed. Avery Hoeper - 5’9 | MH | 2021 Hoeper is a versatile element in the Lakers’ offense as she will get opportunities from a variety of locations. She is a smart attacker in that displays an understanding of when to swing aggressively and when to find a location that applies pressure to the opponent. When in system and with good flow in her approach patterns, she can hit the ball with good pace. The mindset that she brings with her attacking opportunities is what helps attackers limit errors and increase efficiency while making opponents have to do more work. Agains NLS she produced a solid stat line with eight kills, six digs and two and half blocks while leading the match with four service aces. Emma Thorfinnson - 5’9 | OH | 2020 A six-rotation athlete, Thorfinnson gets offensive opportunities from both pins. As her arm work in the air could improve mechanically, she seemingly is better from the right side pin. Her success offensively is due to her athleticism and shot control that includes ability to find holes and swing aggressively at the right moments. Some of her biggest contributions she makes come defensively as she has good court awareness and platform angles that create great opportunities for their offense to flow. As she contributed four kills versus NLS, she led the Lakers with 10 digs in the match. Other key contributors include: outside hitter Alexa Piekarski, defensive specialists Grace Bartels and Kristen Glover, and right side attacker MaKena Panizke.