Quantcast
skip navigation

Finals again for Lakeville North

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 11/11/11, 3:00PM CST

Share

The defending champion Panthers closed out Andover to earn a shot at repeating.


Lakeville North's Alyssa Goehner, Andover's Olivia Graham and Janelle Rupkalvis battled at the net Friday during their Class 3A match. Star Tribune photo by Bruce Bisping.


Lakeville North's Abby Monson dove to take an Andover serve during Friday's Class 3A semifinal game at the Xcel Center. Star Tribune photo by Bruce Bisping.

With a three-set sweep of Andover in the Class 3A semifinals Friday, Lakeville North sent a message that the past, in the form of a 2010 state championship, is just that: the past.

The Panthers’ 2011 model is bent on forging its own path.
With super-sophomore Alyssa Goehner pounding away from the left side and confidence rooted in experience, the Panthers finished off three close sets by not beating themselves.

“Last year was last year,” Panthers coach Steve Willingham said. “While last year’s team could just kind of roll over people, this team probably does some things better than that team.”

The most notable is also the most difficult to define. It would be easy to point to Goehner’s 20 kills or setter Jessica Wolff’s 37 set assists, but the Panthers are more the sum than the parts.

Sophomore Sami Flattum chipped in with eight kills and two blocks. Sophomore Abby Monson took ownership of the libero position in the final two sets, digging 12 balls and passing with accuracy. Senior Kelly Nizzari seemed to step up at key moments with a big kill, key dig or clutch block.
It added up to an impressively efficient performance from the defending state champs.

“From day one in the gym, we made a commitment to team play,” Willingham said. “There are no stars here. Everyone has a certain role.”

It’s clearly a formula that the team has embraced, sitting one match from another state title.

“We have so much confidence in ourselves,” Wolff said. “We know what we can do and we definitely have the drive to prove it. This team has been so much fun this year.”

Related Stories