State Volleyball: Eagles fly past Pirates

ST. PAUL - A tougher regular season schedule may have given the No. 4 Heritage Christian Eagles the edge they needed to defeat the No. 5 Verndale Pirates in a 3-1 Class 1A quarterfinal victory Thursday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center.

Shania Glenz turned in 21 kills and Jordyn Glenz added another 17 for the 28-6 Pirates representing Section 5-1A against the taller 27-10 Eagles from Maple Grove.

Haley Stinar and Megan Dougherty tipped up 27 and 14 set assists respectively and Sarah Moenkedick had a team-high 17 digs.

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Heritage 3, Verndale 1

Highlight: Shania Glenz and Jordyn Glenz combined for 38 kills

Overall: V 28-6, H 27-10

Next: Verndale vs. Cook County in Class 1A state consolation semifinals at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul 1 p.m. Friday

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Verndale never led in the first set and committed three service errors on the way to a 25-18 loss. After the score was tied 9-9, Heritage went on an 8-2 run.

The Pirates committed only one more service error in the next three sets and settled into their normal high-tempo style for the rest of the match.

"That's our normal - that's what we do and we've worked on it for a long time because we are short against everyone we've played," said Verndale head coach Shelley Glenz. "We have two quick middles (Shania and Jordyn Glenz), they're not tall, but they're quick."

After exchanging the lead six times in Set Two, the Pirates went on a 6-1 run to go up 21-17, the largest lead for either team to that point. A Jordyn Glenz kill and Shania Glenz's second ace serve of the set closed out a 25-20 win.

A grueling Set Three saw 15 ties and nine lead changes before Heritage prevailed 27-25. A 19-16 Verndale lead was the largest either team could muster. The Pirates were serving match point at 25-24, but a Heritage block and two consecutive Bella Lien ace serves closed out the Eagles' win.

"It could have been a different outcome if we had gotten that set," said Shelley Glenz.

Jordyn Glenz added: "I think there were a few points where we maybe lost a little focus."

Heritage's lsenior Jenay Fluglestad, came alive in the final two sets picking up 16 of her match-high 25 kills.

Verndale took the early 1-0 lead in Set Four, but three straight kills by Fuglestad put the Eagles up for good 3-1 and fittingly, it was Fuglestad's final kill that resulted in a 25-19 win.

"(Our girls) played hard and weren't intimidated," said Shelley Glenz. "There were some things and a few calls that didn't go our way and we're not used to that, but we didn't let it get in our heads and we played through all that."

Heritage's coach Tom Fuglestad was impressed with Verndale's play.

"The match was well contested," said Tom Fuglestad. "I have the utmost respect for the Verndale team and how they're coached. They were everything we expected them to be. They played great defense and we had our work cut out for us. Nothing came easy - we had to work for our attacks.

"They took it to us in Game Two and had us on our heels, but i'm proud of our girls and how they took it back in Game Three. Jenay was swinging well."

Both teams were making their first trip to the state tournament and both coaches credited playing in the Minnesota Showcase Tournament in late September as helping to prepare their teams.

Verndale went 2-4 in the Class 1A division and Heritage was invited to the Class 2A division where it also went 2-4. Three of those losses came against teams playing in the Class 2A state tournament.

"It really helped us this year that we were able to be down at the Showcase Tournament," said Shelley Glenz. "We had a chance to play on this kind of floor, which does take a little time to adjust to the different feel - it's not a typical gym floor."

Jordyn Glenz, a senior co-captain, expressed disappointment in the loss, but was excited to be in the state tournament.

"I think it's very exciting we made it this far and that's very satisfying, she said. "As long as we play as hard as we can, all the matches down here should be very satisfying."

Verndale next takes on Cook County, another newcomer to the state tournament, in the consolation semifinals 1 p.m. Friday at the Excel Energy Center. Previously unbeaten Cook County lost its quarterfinal game 3-0 to the top-seeded Bethlehem Academy Cardinals from Faribault.

Heritage 25 20 27 25

Verndale 18 25 25 19

Verndale statistics

Allison Olsson 1 set assists, 1 dig, 1 block assist

Alyssa Thompson 3 set assists

Shania Glenz 21 kills, 4 ace serves, 3 digs

Jordyn Glenz 17 kills, 2 set assists, 1 ace serve, 7 digs, 3 block assists

Sarah Moenkedick 1 kill, 1 set assist, 3 ace serves, 17 digs

Morgan Glenz 9 kills, 4 digs, 1 block assist

Haley Stinar 27 set assists, 9 digs, 1 block assist

Megan Dougherty 14 set assists, 10 digs

Alexys Thompson 3 set assists

Alexys Steege 14 digs