Volleyball: Shakopee wins, but Eastview not intimidated

By Brian Stensaas

If tonight's volleyball match between Shakopee and Eastview is any indication of how the rest of the regular season will go in Class 3A, I have three words for all teams in the mix: Bring. It. On.

We have a long way to go yet before the best of the best descend on downtown St. Paul for the state tournament. But tonight's rematch from last year's Class 3A championship game was a treat.

Already impressed with Eastview's revamped gym (new floor, new track above the floor, awesome new scoreboard with space for player stats), once the action got started things only got better.

It will forever go down as a 3-1 victory for the visiting two-time defending state champion Sabers. Eastview, though, showed it will be anything but a pushover this season. The match was back-and-forth nearly the entire way.

After falling behind 24-17 in Game 1, the Lightning rattled off six straight points before being called for two hits, giving Shakopee the early lead.

In Game 2, Eastview was up by as many as six points (11-5) but succumbed to a 27-25 loss.

The momentum didn't last as Shakopee flexed its muscle in the fourth game, winning 25-17 to take the match.

"They rebuilt in a hurry," he said. "But we never panicked, and that's really important."

The Lightning return just three players from last year's state runner-up team compared to 10 for Shakopee. But using solid blocking and an at times ferocious attack they met expectations and quite possibly exceeded them.

"I'm the most hyper-critical coach of anyone," Eastview coach Becky Egan said. "And my confidence [after Tuesday] is way up."

Wittman finished with 25 kills, 19 digs and 5 blocks for Shakopee. Megan Westlund, playing on a sore ankle she turned in practice, had 43 assists.