Trojans finish in 2nd place tie in Missota volleyball

New Prague High School enters the Section 1AAA volleyball tournament after a strong finish to its regular season.

The Trojans won three of their final four matches to improve their season record to 11-13-1. Their lone loss in that stretch came in the season finale when they lost to a strong Eagan squad in four games.

Trojans def. Sabers

The Trojans ended their Missota Conference season with a four-game win over the Sabers at the Trojan gym Monday, Oct. 18. New Prague had a 4-3 conference record, tied for second place with Shakopee and Northfield. Red Wing won the conference with a 7-0 record.

The Trojans won the first two games, 25-16 and 25-20.

In game 1, the Trojans jumped to a 5-0 lead, then ran off nine straight points for a 17-7 lead, on the serving of Sara Gerold.

The Sabers closed to within five points, at 18-13, but the Trojans kept control and won the first game.

In game 2, the lead changed hands eight times. The Trojans led early, but Shakopee scored five straight points to take a 17-16 lead. The Trojans responded with five straight of their own to claim a 21-17 lead and won 25-20.

In game 3, neither team could make a run. Finally, New Prague scored three straight to take a 14-9 lead, but Shakopee came right back and grabbed a 17-15 lead. The teams traded serves, seldom scoring more than one point at a time as Shakopee took the game 25-22.

New Prague asserted itself in game 4, jumping to a 13-3 lead, but Shakopee came back, cutting the lead to six at one point. But New Prague regained the momentum and ran off eight of the final 11 points to take the 25-14 win.

Gerold had 29 set assists and moved the ball around, with Cathy Tuner getting 18 kills and Kristin Busch 11. Karen Sauer added six kills for the Trojans.

Gerold was 16 of 16 serving with two aces and Turner was 20 of 20.

Defensively, Camille Kratochvil and Turner each had a solo block and two assists. Busch had one solo and one assist, Sauer had two assists and Gerold and an assist.

Wildcats def. Trojans

New Prague traveled to Eagan to take on the always-powerful Wildcats. Eagan had to work hard for the win, as the Trojans extended it to four games, 25-23, 22-25, 25-9, 25-19.

In game 1, Eagan took its first lead at 7-6, but they couldn’t shake the pesky Trojans, who tied it at 7-7, 15-15 and 20-20. New Prague took a 22-21 lead, but the Wildcats came back to win 25-23.

In game 2, New Prague had an early lead, but Eagan ran off five straight to take a 12-11 advantage. The Trojans fought right back, going up 15-12, but Eagan scored five straight.

New Prague tied it at 17-17 on an ace serve by Turner, but Eagan looked like they were poised for the kill, getting the next three points. They took a 23-21 advantage over the Trojans, but then Katie Theisen came on to serve and got the final points for the Trojans who won game 2, 25-22.

That result didn't sit too kindly with the Wildcats, as they scored six straight points to take a 6-1 lead in game 3. They extended the lead to 9-2 and 12-3. New Prague tried to get back into the game, but an eight-point run by Eagan ended things as the Wildcats took a 25-9 win.

Eagan tried to carry that momentum into game 4, but the Trojans kept things close, tieing the game at 10-10 on an ace serve by Sauer.

Eagan ran off five straight to take a 16-11 lead, and while the Trojans tried to keep pace, Eagan wouldn’t let them take control and registered a 25-19 win in game 4, to take the match.

Turner had 14 kills for the Trojans, with Theisen getting six and Busch and Sauer three each. Gerold had 19 assists.

New Prague had good serving, with Gerold, Turner and Katie Tikalsky each going 100 percent. Busch, Theisen, Sauer and Tikalsky all had ace serves.

Sauer had three solo blocks, and Turner had two solos and two assists for the Trojans.