Rush City stymies Esko again in section final

For three years in a row, the Esko volleyball team has met Rush City in the Section 7AA championship game and for three straight years the Tigers have come away with the title. The latest championship tilt came on Saturday night when the Tigers nabbed a 3-1 win in Hermantown.

"Last year Rush City finished as the runner-up at the state tournament," Esko coach Pete Stasiuk said. "Our girls were excited to come out and play them."

Esko started by grabbing a first set win with a strong finish, precipitated by the serving of Chiara Houser, who picked up six service points to put her team up 23-17 and the eventual 25-19 win.

"We did a nice job on the receiving and pass game and we were able to get into our offense," Stasiuk said. "We also did a good job of blocking them up front and I don't think they expected us to block as well as we did."

Rush City got off to a strong start in the second game, going from 19-11 and then reeling off six of the next seven points.

"The second set they just started to serve better and we couldn't get into our offense," Stasiuk said.

Things got ugly early in the third set as Rush City went on an 11-0 run on an impressive service game by Natalie Rood. Esko made a mid-set run, but the big start was too much to overcome as the Tigers won 25-9.

"Their server did a nice job and we started having errors that just continued to pile up," Stasiuk said.

Despite struggling mightily in the third set, Esko came out strong and eventually led the fourth set 7-2 as sophomore Maya Johnson had five straight service points. Esko slowly slipped ahead and eventually took a 19-14 lead, but things changed when University of Minnesota recruit McKenna Garr served up nine points in a row. Her team went from being five points down to a four-point lead in a matter of minutes as Rush City pulled ahead 23-19.

"Garr is going to play for the Gophers and she knows what she's doing out there and she really took advantage of us," said Stasiuk. "We also lost our libero, Paige Hanson, to a bloody nose which meant we had our middles having to move into passing roles that they aren't as accustomed to. I felt that if we were able to hold that lead and get to a fifth and final game anything could have happened."

Esko has been playing without one of their top players, Cassie Stark, due to an injury. That also played a part in the finals.

"I definitely think that the loss of Cassie hurt us in the finals and, for that matter, a little in the semifinals," Stasiuk said. "It hurt not having her leadership, her game IQ and her ball control because she solidifies our passing game."

Esko finished the season as section runner-up for the third straight season and with a 25-6 record.

"In order to make it to the state tournament, you have to have a little luck and we just didn't have that in the finals," Stasiuk said. "It was still a very successful season and the girls should be proud of what they accomplished.