Rosemount rode a fiery start and a memorable finish to fend off Hopkins 25-14, 25-23, 19-25, 28-26 at the Side Out Classic tournament Saturday evening at Hopkins High School.

Irish hitter Brittany McLean, a University of Minnesota recruit, stepped up in a big way and finished with 10 kills, half of them coming in a pivotal fourth set that saw Rosemount fight its way out of a eight-point deficit more than midway through to win the set and the match.

It proved to be a frenzied start to the 2015 season.

“Every team struggles at times, but we were determined to do what it takes,” McLean said. “We all had a fire inside, we were ready to push ourselves to the limit to not let the ball hit the floor. How we responded in the fourth game…all those earlier mistakes, we just brushed them off.”

The Irish, ranked No. 6 in the Class 3A poll from the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association, appeared early on to be on their way to a convincing victory before the No. 4-3A Royals eventually found their footing. 

In the third set, Hopkins got its top weapon, Jasmyn Martin, more involved in its offense and made a match of it by using scrappy play to put pressure back on the Irish. Rosemount, conversely, didn't execute all that well during the third and fourth sets and nearly let the momentum get away for good. 

In the fourth set, the Irish reined in Hopkins' attempt to push for a fifth set. Once trailing 20-13 and later 23-15, the Irish got back to passing the ball and playing fundamentally sound.

“We started strong and we were playing our style of game,” Rosemount coach Smokey Vitek said. “We were intense, we were playing good defense and forcing them to make mistakes. Then, all of a sudden, we got out of that and we let them back into the match.

“I think maybe it took us to get to that point before we realized that we really need to stick with our game plan, and to play with that confidence and aggressiveness that we are used to.”

Crisp passing was what got the Irish the lead from the onset, as ball movement in the first two sets allowed Rosemount to run its offense the way it would like. On serve receive, the Irish were able to quickly get the ball to senior setter Erin Slinde, who distributed the ball effectively and evenly, which afforded the team options. Five different players finished with at least one kill in the first two sets.

“(McLean) is a player that other teams are going always going to key on,” Vitek said. “It should open things up for other players, and I think we saw that in the first couple of sets.”

Rosemount improves to 1-0 on the season, following an 18-8 record last year. Hopkins falls to 0-1 after finishing 18-6 a year ago. The victory kicks off a 2015 season with high expectations for the Irish, who look to keep moving forward in an ultra-competitive South Suburban Conference.

“This is a HUGE win for us,” Vitek said. “It seems that over the last three years, we’ve battled well against some top teams and came close, but we’ve never really beaten them. This year, one of our goals was to beat some teams ranked ahead of us, and this is a good start for the program.”

Rosemount rode a fiery start and a memorable finish to fend off Hopkins 25-14, 25-23, 19-25, 28-26 at the Side Out Classic tournament Saturday evening at Hopkins High School.

Irish hitter Brittany McLean, a University of Minnesota recruit, stepped up in a big way and finished with 10 kills, half of them coming in a pivotal fourth set that saw Rosemount fight its way out of a eight-point deficit more than midway through to win.

The Irish, ranked No. 6 in the Class 3A poll from the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association, appeared early on to be on their way to a convincing victory before the No. 4-3A Royals eventually found their footing. In the third set, Hopkins began to get its top weapon, Jasmyn Martin, more involved in its offense, and the Royals began to make a match of it by using scrappy play to put pressure back on the Irish. Rosemount, conversely, didn't execute all that well during the third and fourth sets and nearly let the momentum get away for good. 

In the fourth set, the Irish reined in Hopkins' attempt to push for a fifth set. Once trailing 20-13 and later 23-15, the Irish got back to passing the ball and playing fundamentally sound.

Rosemount improves to 1-0 on the season, following an 18-8 record in 2014. Hopkins falls to 0-1 after finishing 18-6 a year ago.

Spotlight Game Coverage