The opening of her backpack sent Lakeville South outside hitter Kate Utecht into a state of panic Thursday morning at Grand Casino Arena.
Her jersey was nowhere to be found.
Cougars libero Finley Miller could see the alarm on her teammate’s face. Utecht ran to her phone and called her mom.
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“Where’s my jersey?” Utecht recalled asking. “She’s like, ‘Kate, you need to find a new one. I’m already (at the arena).'”
She needed a spare. Luckily, this isn’t the Cougars’ first trip around the block. Lakeville South coach Stephen Willingham noted this happens to someone on his team seemingly, “every 15 minutes.” Miller lost hers earlier this fall.
Players had to bring their jerseys home after Wednesday’s quarterfinal win and bring them back for Thursday’s semifinal.
“I believe it’s clean,” Willingham joked, “so she completed half the mission.”
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Luckily for Utecht, Willingham’s program brings every spare jersey it has to St. Paul. So she wore No. 19, instead. That was about the only crisis the Cougars faced Thursday, as they swept conference rival Apple Valley, 25-20, 25-20, 25-15.
Sporting the No. 19 instead of her usual No. 4, Kate Utecht had eight kills in the win. Her sister, Elleora, paced the team with 15.
The top-seeded Cougars will meet Eagan on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Class 4A final in St. Paul for a chance to complete the state title three-peat.
Apple Valley coach Hannah Specktor noted her team executed much of what it wanted to do Thursday, but the Cougars’ size and versatility was simply difficult to match.
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The result does little to mitigate Apple Valley’s continued rise. The Eagles, a downtrodden program only a few years ago, have now reached the Class 4A finals in consecutive seasons. They’ll play Champlin Park for third place on Saturday.
“It’s a really special thing to be a part of,” Apple Valley senior outside hitter Sophia Cowan said of the program’s rise. “When I first joined this team as an eighth grader, just the entire mindset and the standard of this program was completely different than what it is now. The last couple years, as we’ve been making runs and really competing with teams, we’re kind of catching everybody by surprise.
“I’ve always believed in us, 100%, since I’ve joined the team. But it’s kind of nice to see other people respect us a little bit more.”
Lakeville South is athletic, physical and tall, and putting all of its best traits to perfect use at the moment.
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“We really love the chemistry and dynamic we have going on this team right now,” Willingham said.
The process of building that to this point starts via team bonding at the season’s outset. Miller, who’s in her first season in the Lakeville South program, noted she was welcomed with open arms immediately upon her arrival.
The team’s camaraderie and connection has hit a crescendo near the end of the season. Lakeville South has dropped a single set over the last month.
“The chemistry right now, it’s higher than usual,” junior middle blocker McKenna Ressler said. “I feel like we’re all really playing well together and being very energetic. The momentum on the court feels different.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
