State Champs Crowned, FBA 3, Marshall 2, Shakopee 1

#7 posting 11.10.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

FBA, MARSHALL, SHAKOPEE CHAMPS
The state tournament wrapped up today with champions crowned in three classes.

A
It all started in class A with Faribault Bethlehem Academy topping Windom in four. FBA ended the regular season #3 in the coaches poll, Windom was #1.
FBA broke free in game one with a 13-2 run over three servers with Liz Schlobohm serving up the last six points in the run. FBA sided out at .636 in that first game.
In the second Windom turned their fbso % around from .364 to .733. But the game was tight even toward the end it was 20 all when a Windom run of three made it 23-20 and forced an FBA time out (at 22-20). It was a side out game after that.
FBA put the pedal down early as they scored on four of their first five servers to lead 17-6. MaKenzie Lovell breathed some life and hope into the Eagles with a 8 point run. She had a pair of aces. FBA was forced to use their two time outs, but couldn't stop the momentum shift. It narrowed to 18-16 until a missed serve gave the ball back to FBA. In fact the last three servers for Windom all missed their serves to side out for FBA.
In game four FBA again jumped out up 7-2 forcing a quick time out. Windom after the break went on a 8-3 run to tie it up at 10. But the next three servers for FBA converted and it was back to a 21-15 lead for FBA. After that it became a side out game.
This is FBA's third state championship with others happening in 2003, and 2005. Apparently in even years they are runners up (2002, 2004, 2006).

AA
Marshall became the sixth team and the first team since Lake of the Woods in 2005 to come back from a 2-0 deficit to take down the last undefeated team in the state St. Cloud Cathedral. And again for the second day in a row, the team that won the big game the day before fell. First it was DGF stopping Jordan, then SCC sweeping DGF. The circle is now complete with Marshall over SCC.
This was a tight contest early on with SCC taking game one with three straight points at the end of game one. Two of the points came on a kill and a block by Anna Zyvoloski. The interesting thing in this game was Marshall had one more fbso than SCC.
Again in game two Marshall led down to the wire at 23-22 and again Zyvoloski led the surge at the end for SCC, again with a kill and a block. Again Marshall had a better fbso% than SCC. So the trends were working in Marshall's favor. The coaching staff did a good job of keeping their players focused on the next game.
Oddly enough SCC had a better fbso in game three, but the difference was the 3+ run game. Marshall won that contest 3-1. So if Marshall didn't side out on the first ball, they did on the second. SCC led late at 19-18 when the Tigers took a time out. After they got three straight. Side outs after side out put Marshall on the brink. Rachel Westby finished with a kill.
Marshall started to surge in game four and you could see the momentum shift in the body language of the two teams. Things that were done with authority before for SCC now were done with hope. SCC took two time outs early at 8-4 and 13-8. It still was fairly tight with SCC closing to 20-17, but Marshall slammed the door shut with a five point run at the end. On to game five.
SCC started off with the lead 1-0, but Marshall had the first run after a block with Anna Full. SCC battled to tie it at 8. Two hitting errors put Marshall back in front. The Tigers were getting a lot of balls up frustrating the attack plans of SCC. That forced a time out. The Crusaders got the side out. Marshall had a strong fbso in game with a .625. A hitting error ended the game.
This is Marshall's second championship. They won in 2004 also coming back from a 2-0 deficit when they won the AAA championship over Lakeville North. Marshall has been runner up four previous times. This was St. Cloud Cathedral's first time in the championship contest.

AAA
Shakopee played nearly flawless ball in their first championship win over Andover. For the match they had a fbso of .811 including a perfect 9 for 9 in game two. They never allowed a run of three until game three. Shakopee trailed 1-0 in game one and the biggest deficit they faced was the 3-0 margin at the start of game three. Andover had one more moment when they led 8-7. After that the Sabres closed out with a 18-9 run. Shakopee only allowed nine points in all three games. These are clear reasons why they are the top team in the state without a doubt.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
team, fbso/att, fbso%, 3+ runs, points scored, points allowed.
A
FBA 25/46, .543, 15, ?, ? (the state website has the Chisholm/Mayer Lutheran game instead of the FBA/Windom game posted).
Windom 24/46, .522, 8, ?, ?

AA
Marshall 32/59, .542, 14, 67, 24
St. Cloud Cathedral 26, 59, .441, 10, 75, 42
As you can see you can see SCC had 42 errors for Marshall points, a fatal problem.

AAA
Shakopee 30/37, .811, 7, 54, 9
Andover 16/36, .444, 2, 36, 21

Congratulations to all champions and teams throughout the state on a great season. I enjoyed covering the action. Now action moves to the JO side of the aisle. I will need help in covering action. If you have news on that action, by all means email me. Go to my profile and you will find it.

Next up: tomorrow with newspaper reports