Eden Prairie’s Kendall Minta (13) records a kill in the fourth set of the Eagles' 3-1 victory at Lake Conference rival Edina on Thursday night. Photo by Earl J. Ebensteiner, SportsEngine
The Eagles’ Cameron Berger reaches for a dig in the first set Thursday night at Edina. Photo by Earl J. Ebensteiner, SportsEngine
In a conference as talented and as competitive as the Lake Conference, matches can come down to a lot more than just how well or how poorly a team played on a specific night. Energy and mental focus can play a huge factor in deciding the outcome of a match, and for No. 7-4A Eden Prairie coach Chad Becker, those were the main reasons the Eagles (6-1, 2-0) struggled in the opening set of their 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 victory over Edina.
“We didn’t come out ready to play,” Becker said. “They were clearly ready to go and we weren’t. We had to get our minds right and get ourselves back to our system and let that take care of itself.”
Edina’s Aliya Dahlin makes a saving dig in the second set of the Hornets' 3-1 home loss to the Eagles. Photo by Earl J. Ebensteiner, SportsEngine
Eden Prairie dropped the opening set against Lake Conference rival Edina on Thursday night but bounced back to prevail in a 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 road victory.
The Hornets (5-3, 0-2) came out with more energy in the first set and caught the Eagles off guard to come away with four-point win.
The Eagles (6-1, 2-0) righted the ship from there, as each set victory became more comfortable as the match wore on. The final point of the match was won emphatically through a block from Kendall Minta, one of her three in the match.
The Eagles attack was led by Cameron Berger, who had a match-high 37 assists. She spread the wealth to multiple teammates, as the Eagles had four players with five or more kills. Paige O’Connell led the team with 15 in the match.
Tessa Dubbe led the Hornets with a team-high 13 kills and added a block and an ace. She was constantly set up by Vittoria La Ferla, who led the Hornets with 11 assists.