It was a typical season opener for the Minnetonka volleyball team on Friday, Aug. 28. The team showed some nerves early on, had a few miscommunications and then showed some signs of promise.
In the end, the Skippers' opponent, New Prague, had just enough to squeak out a five game victory.
The Skippers dropped the first two games by scores of 23-25 and 17-25. They then rallied to win games three and four by scores of 25-22 and 25-19 before falling 10-15 in game five.
Senior outside hitter Hannah Wilson led the Skippers' offensive attack with 19 kills. Senior middle hitter Robin Saville added 15 kills and senior outside hitter Chelsea Schmieg tallied nine kills.
New Prague was led by senior Maggie Weiers who recorded 12 kills.
"I was actually really happy with how we played, considering that we only have two returning players and a setter who has never set before in her life," head coach Mary Stude said. "So I was very proud of the girls."
The Skippers actually led late in game one by a score of 23-22, but the Trojans scored three straight points to take the opening game 25-23.
After struggling to find their rhythm in game two, the Skippers came back to force a fifth game by winning games three and four.
With game three tied at 20, the Skippers won a critical point on a long rally when Seville won a battle at the net with a Trojans' player.
Schmieg and Seville then tallied back-to-back kills to give the Skippers some breathing room at 23-20.
After the Trojans closed to within one at 23-22, a Trojans' service error and a kill by Wilson finished things off for the Skippers.
The Skippers took control of game four right from the get go and never relinquished the lead.
Wilson recorded six of her team-high 18 kills in game four, including three straight early on to give the Skippers a 10-6 lead. Wilson also recorded the kill on game-point as the Skippers took game four 25-19.
Wilson is being recruited by several Division I and II schools and will be asked to carry much of the offensive load for the Skippers this season.
"Obviously Hannah is going to be the outside hitter that we're going to really rely on," Stude said. "She's got great speed, great acceleration and is a great power hitter. She's our go-to person."
Three more kills by Wilson in the middle of the decisive game five had the Skippers smelling a victory as they took a 10-7 lead.
But things fell apart for the Skippers from there as a couple of hitting errors allowed the Trojans to get back into the match.
The Trojans wound up winning the final eight points of the match to clinch the victory with a 15-10 game-five win.
Despite the disappointing finish, Stude was happy with most of what she saw during game No. 1 of the season.
"I told them I was really impressed with how they played," Stude said. "They came back after losing two. There's things that we can work on and we're excited to work on those things, but they had the tenacity to come back and their character is excellent."
Sophomore Rachel Hugo is the team's starting setter and sophomore Renee Hoffman is the team's libero. Both Hugo and Hoffman are playing their respective positions for the first times in their volleyball careers.
Freshmen Courtney Nash and Taylor Fredrickson also saw significant playing time in the team's season opener.
Other players on the varsity roster include seniors Elly Ryan, Tasha Sturm and Elissa Teal, and junior Ashley Ness.
The Skippers will have several chances to post a notch in the win column this week. They will travel to Willmar on Tuesday, Sept. 1 and then come back home to host Hutchinson on Thursday, Sept. 3. The team will finish the week by playing in the Eden Prairie Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 5.
