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Friday, October 3, 2008
Sabers Vying for State
St. Paul, MN
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After winning the Class AAA championship last year, Shakopee reloads and looks for another shot this season
For as long as most could remember, Shakopee has been a basketball school. It’s enjoyed tremendous fan support and institution-wide interest, while also rewarding the high school it’s lone state championship — earned in 2005 at the end of a six-year run of Class AAA-qualifying teams.
While no one is besmirching the Sabers’ roundball heritage, it’s been another hardcourt-contesting cadre that has kept the suburban school in the limelight lately.
After winning their program’s first state title in its inaugural Class AAA appearance, the Shakopee volleyball team has staked its claim to the top of the school’s athletic hierarchy.
“There was a lot of pride involved in bringing that to the town,” Matt Busch, a 1993 graduate of SHS in his 11th season as head coach of the Sabers, said. “Before we won our title, there had only been that one other championship. We’re hoping to win a few more as well.”
After claiming their third-consecutive Missota Conference title with their second-straight perfect record in circuit play, the Sabers finally broke through the bonds of their highly competitive section and into the state bracket last season. “It certainly was a fun dream that the girls made reality,” Busch said. “It was a long time in coming.”
It wasn’t exactly out of the blue, either. Before compiling their 31-win championship run last autumn, Shakopee had compiled 19 victories in 2005 and 21 in 2006. Like this year, the squad was ranked No. 2 from the start in the coaches poll.
“We knew people were gunning for us,” Busch said. “But, we felt winning (state) was realistic if the stars aligned and with one exception, it was a perfect year.”
The only team to defeat the Sabers in 2007 was also the only squad to best Shakopee in the first half of the 2008 season: Lakeville North.
While the Sabers got their revenge by defeating the Panthers in the Class AAA semifinals last November, another crack at their nemesis in the state bracket is not exactly a given this year.
“We have a very tough schedule in front of us, which includes playing in the Lakeville North (Invitational) Tournament,” Busch said. “Every single match puts us against great teams.”
Not that the Sabers are not a great team themselves.
While Busch’s squad graduated one All-State honoree in setter Jessica Menden and one All-State Honorable Mention in hitter Maggie Geske last spring, the Sabers do return one of the most powerful and skilled players in Minnesota in the form of All-State junior hitter Ashley Wittman.
“Ashley is a tremendous player and is very well-rounded,” Busch said. “She’s not just a great hitter, defensively she excels and is one of our best serve receivers.” Yet, as even the most casual fan will attest, Wittman is at her most imposing lined up on the outside, where she is leading the state in kills by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio.
“It’s not just Ashley, though,” Busch added. “We have several fantastic players on the team.”
That’s not just lip service, either. The Sabers are a tightly-knit mass of talent with a healthy dose of confidence after last season’s successes.
Libero Mollie Geske is a third-year starter that has “owned the backcourt” for the Sabers, according to her coach. She joins three other juniors: middle blocker Jean Theis, outside hitter Elizabeth Benusa and setter/blocker Mariah Monnens in the starting lineup.
At setter, the Sabers have used a combination of junior Amelia Yager and sophomore Megan Westlund to replace Menden with superb results. “Amelia was our backup last year and Megan was on the junior varsity,” Busch said. “They’ve done a great job stepping up and filling some very big shoes.”
Senior Bri Duff and freshman Claire Sames have also contributed to what the Sabers hope becomes a repeat of last season.
“I think one of the things that has impressed me the most about this team is that they’ve kept level heads this season,” Busch said. “This team is very mature and is handling this season well, that’s a big credit to the girls.”
Still, with top-ranked Chaska sure to be standing between Shakopee and another trip to state, Busch knows that it will take more than just a cool hand to return to the floor of the Xcel Energy Center in November as part of this year’s Class AAA field.
“We’ve got to continue to do the best we can every match,” Busch said. ‘If we don’t, there will be no chance to get that second state title.”
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