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Holy Angels beats Hill-Murray for Class 2A, Section 4 title

By Ben Farber, SportsEngine, 11/03/16, 11:15AM CDT

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The Stars earned their first state tournament bid in 21 years.


Holy Angels poses with the Class 2A, Section 4 championship trophy following its 3-1 victory over Hill-Murray Thursday night at Bloomington Kennedy High School. Photo by Ben Farber

For the first time in 21 years, the Academy of Holy Angels have advanced to the state volleyball tournament by winning the Class 2A, Section 4 title on Thursday night. 

Heading into a title bout against the defending champion, Hill-Murray, the Stars fell behind early then roared back to complete a 23-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-22 victory at Bloomington Kennedy High School. 

Buoyed by a boisterous student section, Holy Angels seized command of the match in the second set. 

“Words can’t say how proud I am,” said Stars head coach Tom Emanuel after the game. “I’m not saying we expected this, but we believed all year that we were a state tournament team.”

Still, it took a come-from-behind effort to secure the title for the Stars. Their preparedness made a significant difference in the game.

“Our preparation was very strong,” said Emanuel. “We saw Hill-Murray play four times during the regular season so we felt very prepared. I think our mental toughness got us through some rough stretches.”

Though they dropped the first set, the Stars never lost focus.

“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to come back,” said senior Mackenzie Downes. “They’re a very good team but we could tell, even from the first set, that we were battling and weren’t going to give up.”

In addition to Downes, the Stars were paced by their upperclassmen. Junior Ellie Koontz led the way with 14 kills. Seniors Sophie Vass and Katie Meckey chipped in with 11 and nine kills, respectively.  

The present is certainly bright for Holy Angels, and Stars fans have a future to look forward to. 

“We have some young talent that will really help us,” said Koontz.

Freshman Lauren Link racked up 10 kills and performed unflappably, maintaining her confident composure throughout the contest. 

“I’m for sure sad to be leaving this year but there’s no better way to leave. I know that when I’m gone there’s a great future ahead for the Holy Angels volleyball program,” offered Downes. 

Thursday’s win caps off an historic season for Holy Angels, who finished the regular season with an outstanding 24-4 record. 

For Hill-Murray, finishing second was little consolation. The Pioneers were defending section champions and had reached the state tournament two of the last three years. 

However, after losing five seniors to graduation, new coach Angie Houk knew she had her hands full with a relatively inexperienced squad.

“When we started off the season, a lot of people thought we were going to have a down year because of all the players we lost,” Houk said. “I think we exceeded a lot of people’s expectations and played really well tonight.”

The Pioneers finished the regular season with a middling 13-11 record overall, but romped to second in the Metro East conference with a 6-2 mark in divisional play. 

Junior Claire Westby led the pioneers with 13 kills. 

“Claire Westby is always fantastic for us. She has played in every set we’ve used this year. She’s a go-to player and I’m really proud of Claire and all the other players on the team today,” said Houk after the game. 

While both teams put forth admirable efforts, the final words go to Coach Emanuel. 

“Tonight was fun, I’ll be honest with you. Our girls played with an usual amount of energy and emotion. I think that really helped us get over the hump,” he said. 

Holy Angels will suit up next Thursday when they take the floor at Xcel Center in St. Paul for the state tournament.

First Report

Ellie Koontz led the way with 14 kills as Holy Angels defeated Hill-Murray 23-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-22 at Bloomington Kennedy High School on Thursday to secure the Class 2A, Section 4 championship and earn a trip to the state playoffs.

With the win, the Stars unseated the defending champion Pioneers. Hill-Murray represented Class 2A, Section 4 in the state tournament two of the last three years. 

While Koontz led the Stars in scoring, she received major help from Sophie Vass (11 kills) and freshman Lauren Link (10 kills).

After dropping the first set, the Stars roared back with three straight victorious sets.

Holy Angels earned the top seed in the section tournament with a tremendous regular season (24-4, 8-3).

Claire Westby totaled 13 kills for Hill-Murray. 

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