Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

The 2007 state volleyball season looked like Forest Lake was on a non-stop route to this weekend’s state tournament...right up until Nov. 1, when the Andover Huskies high-jacked the Rangers’ bandwagon in the Section 7AAA final.

One day after No. 2 seeded Andover’s 25-19, 26-24, 25-22 victory over top seeded Forest Lake, head coach Sherri Alm was having a difficult time figuring out exactly what went wrong.

“It was disappointing. We didn’t show up to play,” Alm said. “For our forté being defense, we were horrible.”

It basically came down to her squad not performing like it can, while the Huskies played precisely like a team that belonged in Minnesota’s Elite Eight.

When these two programs faced each other at the Eastview Invitational in mid-October, Forest Lake was the 2-1 winner.

Last Thursday’s match in North Branch started out well for the Rangers, as the girls controlled the first game and appeared confident in taking the section title. But when Forest Lake reached its nineteenth point, Andover turned up the intensity and the Rangers never really responded.

“We were not playing aggressive,” Alm said. “Andover swings hard; all of them.”

The hardest swinger was outside hitter Megan Carlson, who started the Huskies’ comeback with a scorching serve that created problems for Forest Lake. Andover’s outside hitter had the Rangers looking like they had been hit by an upper-cut.

“We played okay in Game One, until that,” Alm shared.

Stunned and dazed, Forest Lake let the opening game slide over to the other side of the net, and the momentum stayed with the Huskies the remainder of the night.

Over the next two games, Andover attacked like they were trying to win, while the Rangers looked like they were hoping the Huskies might let them back in the contest.

As Andover’s Carlson was on her way to 18 kills and nine aces, the openings for Forest Lake went from smaller to smaller.

There were brief moments where the Rangers put together a mini-streak, but major ones were in demand.

Forest Lake was down in the second game, then came back to tie it up at 24-24, only to lose, 26-24.

In Game 3, the Huskies had the crowd and the lead in its favor, when the Rangers fought for one of those miniature rallies and went ahead 15-14. As the final score indicates, however, Andover (25-4) would earn the state berth by the score of 25-22.

As unsettled and intimidated as Forest Lake (23-6) seemed, the three close games showed how skilled this group was. And that’s what troubled Alm the most. She said she could handle losing if her team simply got beat by a superior opponent, but that wasn’t the case last Thursday.

“It just doesn’t sit well,” she said. “We just weren’t in synch. I’m curious, for some reason why we can’t push over this hill.”

STATISTICS
Rangers 0, Andover 3
19-25, 24-26, 22-25

Kills - Lexi Alm 12, Chelsie Sobieck 11, Jamie Bucholz 3, Caitlin Lehner 2, Megan McKenzie 2
Digs - L. Alm 15, Sobieck 10, McKenzie 9, Betsy Kelly 3
Setting Assists - McKenzie 21
Serves - L. Alm 11/12-1 ace, Britta Johnson 14/16-1 ace

Semifinal Win - Oct. 30
Rangers 3, Grand Rapids 0
25-15, 25-16, 25-22

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