Bulldogs finish sixth at state

The Carlton Bulldogs girls volleyball team made its fifth appearance at the Class A State Tournament last week in St. Paul and they were hoping to do something they failed to do in the past four trips south - get a win and play on Saturday.

"We had a goal to make it to Saturday and to win that elusive first-ever state tournament match and the girls did just that," said longtime head coach Barb Soukkala.

In Thursday's quarterfinal versus Ada-Borup the Bulldogs started fast in the first set, jumping out to a 16-8 lead midway through. But the Cougars responded by outscoring the Bulldogs 19-9 the rest of the way to get the 27-25 win.

"It was disappointing with Ada as we had a big lead in that first set and we didn't respond as they came back and won," Soukkala said. "We had the huge lead to start the second set (7-0) and again they came back, but we managed to find a way to win."

After Carlton tied the match at 1-1 with a 27-25 tally, Ada-Borup reeled off the next two sets 25-20 and 25-12 to send the Bulldogs to the consolation round against New York Mills. The winner would move on to action Saturday.

The Eagles were coming off a loss to eventual state champion Minneota and the team seemed out of place as the Bulldogs rolled to a straight-set victory 25-16, 25-13, 25-19.

"I told the girls we needed to be more aggressive and attack more, and also to stop tipping and go for it," Soukkala said. The Bulldogs responded. Carlton trailed only once in the three sets.

The Eagles built a 6-0 lead in the first set but after that it was all Bulldogs, who scored 25 of the next 35 points in the set.

Carlton dominated play in the next two sets as the Eagles continued to struggle with quick passing and timely kills from the Bulldogs. The win over New York Mills gave Carlton that first-ever win at the state tournament and moved them into the consolation final against two-time defending state champion Mayer Lutheran. Despite what was an exciting match from start to finish, it was the Crusaders who used a height advantage to put down the Bulldogs 3-1. Mayer Lutheran won the first two sets 25-18, 25-20 before Carlton would battle back and take the third set 25-17.

Carlton was hoping to force a fifth set but saw those hopes disappear as

Mayer-Lutheran prevailed 25-17.

"The kids played so hard at the tournament," Soukkala said. "They were competitive and never quit, which was the way they played all year. For me, seeing how the girls were so excited to be there and how they were spoiled, made it memorable."

The Bulldogs finished the season 29-4 with no seniors on the team, making them a section favorite come next year.

Taylor Nelson led the Bulldogs with 41 kills for the tournament, while Abby Mickle added 37 kills. Brynn Mickle ended with 91 set assists. Samantha Matarelli led Carlton with six ace serves overall.

Top-seeded Minneota Vikings (36-1) improved on last year's runner-up showing to earn their second championship. They defeated the unseeded Medford 3-0 in the title match. The Vikings won their only other title in 2006.

The Medford Tigers (29-6) were making their first tournament appearance.

Ada-Borup claimed third-place honors after defeating Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16).