With four scheduled matches remaining in the regular season for StormHawks volleyball, they faced the New Prague Trojans (8-11) in a critical Metro West Conference match on May 14. The StormHawks were tied with Benilde-St. Margaret’s for second place in the conference and were looking to make a strong showing for sectional placement. So far in the month of May, the StormHawks were 1-1, having defeated Westonka 3-1 before falling to Benilde-St. Margaret’s 0-3. The StormHawks (7-6) had previously defeated New Prague 3-2 on April 26.

It was Senior Night and the final home game of the regular season, and the StormHawks started strong, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The sport of volleyball is quite susceptible to the ebb and flow of hits, movement and momentum. New Prague tied things up at 6-6, pushed ahead to 13-9 and then stretched the lead to 22-13 before winning the first set 25-18. Between sets, coaches and captains could be heard directing the team to “let the first game go and focus on this game. Communicate and react to your teammates and their movements.”

The opening trade-off of serves in the second set went the StormHawks’ way, trailing 4-5 and 9-11 early in the set, things picked up at 12-12 before the StormHawks took the lead at 16-14 and never fell behind again. The score was tied at 20-20, but after a timeout, the StormHawks pushed ahead to take the second set 25-23 and tie the match at one set apiece.

In the third set, the StormHawks got out to an early 6-2 lead over the Trojans. New Prague pushed back and tied the set at 10-10. The StormHawks went ahead 13-11, and each team traded points throughout the set. This back-and-forth battle reached 22-22. Hard-fought points at the end of the set saw New Prague earn a 26-24 win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Game four saw the StormHawks make a statement, jumping out to an early 11-5 lead and continuing to work hard with some of the best passing of the night. Players at the net consistently found seams in both the front and back lines of the New Prague defense. Senior Carter Dean and freshman Lucas Engan both had strong service runs that added to the point totals. With the score 17-10 in favor of the StormHawks, New Prague took a timeout. The StormHawks coaches welcomed input from the players and managers during the break. Team members commented, “They’re out of gas, we need to stay strong.” The team managers also pointed out tendencies in the Trojans’ front line. The StormHawks grabbed the momentum and finished off the set 25-17 to tie the match at two sets apiece and send things to a decisive fifth set.

Set number five showed a dominant effort on the part of the StormHawks. Carrying the momentum from the fourth set, the StormHawks jumped out to a 7-2 lead. Overtime volleyball sets go to 15 points. Junior Wyatt Fischer and sophomore Sam Manthei had several significant blocks and spikes in the set. Tobie Vang seemed to be everywhere on the floor, and his targeted sets were executed well by his teammates. With the team playing complete “team ball,” the StormHawks rolled to a 15-4 win and claimed the match 3-2 over New Prague to improve to 8-6 on the season.

Postgame, Coach Dose shared, “I’m proud of how the team hung in there and didn’t give up. They play well when they are relaxed. It was a back-and-forth effort to say the least and could have gone either way. We saw a lot of good things, and we can focus a bit more as we finish off the season.”

Honored on Senior Night were Devon Hargraves, Carter Dean and Esther Vang. Hargraves has been a two-year player with the team and recalled the sacrifices and payoffs of playing volleyball as some of his best memories. Dean, in his first year with the team, cited volleyball as a way of teaching him discipline and how to take things as they come. Team manager Vang shared that being able to help the team and coaches has been her biggest takeaway.

The StormHawks finish the regular season at Shakopee on May 21 before sectional play begins.