November 16, 2007...6:26 am
Duluth Proves Why They are Number 1
So I never thought I would say this, but I just spent a whole day watching volleyball. From the first game, MSU-Mankato vs. Soutwest Minnesota State, to USD vs. UMD, I caught all of the game.
All three games were played close and no one really ran away with the match. Yes some games were 3-0 or 3-1 but they were closer then that.
MSU-Mankato played like it was too early in the morning for them at 11 o’clock and fell behind SMSU 2-0. Well they rallied back and almost won the match against the Mustangs but feel about five points short in the fifth set.
Concordia beat Wayne State in a game in which many people called for the upset. Wayne State was able to stick with Concordia pretty well in the first two games and kept it close but halfway through the third game, Concordia hit the kill switch and destroyed Wayne.
Augie and Nebraska-Omaha were up next and most of the people I talked to there wanted to see Omaha lose. Well they pulled it out, barely. They won a close first game but then got destroyed in the second game. Augie kept the third game close but Omaha won that one. The fourth game went to Omaha but they had to come back and were down towards the end, 29-30, before rattling off three straight points to win the match.
Then USD played UMD. Minnesota Duluth is the number 1 team in the nation. For the Coyotes to win, they were going to have to pull out all the stops and put together their best volleyball. That’s exactly what the Coyotes did, but it wasn’t enough. Duluth was just too strong and looked like a mac truck out there. The girls for Duluth hit that volleyball as hard as I have ever seen it hit. They found the holes everytime and each hit always seemed to hug the line to stay in. They played almost perfect. I really don’t know who can beat this team. It is like watching the New England Patriots out there.
USD played pretty well. Our defense kept getting impressive digs that I haven’t seen them get before and for facing a team of that calibur, Kat Hruska and Heather Hult played well in the middle. The Coyotes did not play bad and I thought they were the second best team that I saw all day. If they would have gotten a different seed I think it would have been a different story.
But the future is bright for the Coyotes. They lose two seniors in Megan Freeman and Ashley Gross. Gross is a key right side hitter for the Coyotes and is a major hitter they need to replace. Freeman brings a lot to the team in terms of chemistry that is always valuable. But those are the only two losses on a team that set a school record for wins in a year so next year should prove to be quite the year for the Coyote volleyball team.
Now I must get some sleep in preparation for the long drive home from Duluth. This has been quite the trip for me as well. It is the first time I have been on a long roadtrip with one of the teams and I throughly enjoyed it. I am definitely looked forward to the next big trip with one of the teams at USD.
-Justin Rust
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