Tougher volleyball ahead for Totino-Grace, Spring Lake Park

Everything is new and sparkling in the Totino-Grace gymnasium. Refinished floor. Fresh paint. New bleachers.

Fitting then, it was the site of the Eagles' first home volleyball match of the season against Spring Lake Park. Both teams are under the direction of new coaches and moved to a new conference this year.

Coaches Kayla Cole (Totino-Grace) and Joy Johnston (Spring Lake Park) were college teammates for two seasons at Bethel University.

When the North Suburban Conference dissolved in June, Totino-Grace and Spring Lake Park became Northwest Suburban Conference members. Irondale also made the switch.

In the volleyball world, Totino-Grace and Spring Lake Park went from finishing first and second in the weaker North Suburban Conference last season to underdogs in the strong Northwest Suburban.

"That's very fair," said Johnston, who coached in the Northwest Suburban as an assistant at Maple Grove. "I told the girls after the Totino-Grace match, 'This isn't going to be the hardest team you're going to see. Osseo, Blaine, Maple Grove — they've all got powerhouse hitters and defenses.' "

For all that was new, the Sept. 4 match felt like old times. Totino-Grace, located in Fridley, swept Spring Lake Park, its neighbors to the north, by scores of 25-18, 25-15, 25-23. The Panthers held a 23-22 lead in the third game before falling. Totino-Grace is 5-0 in matches against the Panthers since 2010.

Cole called Schiller, one of only two seniors on the Eagles roster, a "great volleyball player and an even better leader. She holds her teammates accountable."

Schiller will join older sister Heather on the Concordia (St. Paul) volleyball team next season. She is focused on turning heads this fall and likes her team's chances. The Eagles also rely on libero Madison Kroehler and middle blockers Izzy Sommers and Olivia Kreuser.

"We're ready to prove ourselves and make a name for ourselves in the conference," Schiller said. "We have to fight every single point of every single game."

Getting swept at Totino-Grace stung the Panthers. But Johnston focused on the larger task of putting a stamp on an inherited program. The Panthers will rely on players such as libero Emily Borene, setter Bailey Israelson and outside hitter Pilar Onstad.

"We're working on skills, always and trying to push the game dynamics," Johnston said. "We're trying to change the culture within our gym and how hard we're working. And we're trying to build a strong team rather than a lot of talented individual players."

Totino-Grace's season ended in the playoffs against Blaine in four of the past five seasons.

Johnston's message to her Panthers' squad about rising to the Northwest Suburban level would resonate in the Totino-Grace locker room as well.

"I think they know but they don't quite realize it yet," she said. "Until you start seeing those teams — that's when it's real life."

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574