STANDARD EXAMINER: Cheers to tears for Bees, Vikings
This entry was posted on 11/10/2007 8:35 AM and is filed under Girls Youth Basketball, Girls Basketball News.
Below is an article reprinted from the
Cheers to tears for Bees, Vikings
BY DENNIS LARSEN Standard-Examiner staff dlarsen@standard.net
OREM — There was little time for celebration, much less physical recovery time.
With her aching right elbow wrapped in an ice bag and dealing with a migraine, senior setter Brooke Tolman was off to play in a showcase basketball game in Salt Lake City less than two hours after a pair of five-gamers Saturday in the state 4-A volleyball tournament at Utah Val- ley State College.
The 17-year-old Tolman and her Bees’ teammates closed out the 2007 season on a winning note, but not in the match they wanted to be playing in at the McKay Events Center.
Gunning for its first 4-A championship-match berth since winning the 1996 state 4-A title with a three-game sweep of Timpview at East High School, Box Elder fell to Region 9 champion Dixie in the semifinals.
Showing their resiliency, the two-time defending Region 5 champion Bees rebounded and wrapped up third place with a 19-25, 27-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-12 victory over Region 6 champion Highland.
“It was way hard for us to be in this position,” Tolman said. “We totally thought we would be in the championship match. It was so close with Dixie; two really good teams fighting it out. We had some bad luck in some of the games. Who knows what would happen on another day.”
Trailing the Flyers 14-11 in Game 5, Box Elder committed a costly service error which snapped its 16-match winning streak.
Box Elder (31-4 overall) led 4-0 in Game 5, polishing off the Rams behind kills from Tolman, Alyssa Everett and Tiffany Wilde.
Wilde’s match-winner was a blistering line shot.
“I think we exceeded expectations; this was the funnest season we ever had,” Tolman said. “I would have liked to win a state championship, but we’ll settle for second-best. It was fun to see us stay positive and pull it out.”
The Bees’ 31 wins are a new school record.
Wilde had 14 kills, one solo block, eight block assists and nine digs; Mandy Munns had 14 kills; Stephanie Talbot had 11 kills; Everett had eight kills; Tolman had 40 assists and 13 digs; libero Melanie Stieg had 26 digs; and Elyse Nelson had 13 digs.
“It’s more fun finishing third than fifth,” Box Elder coach Robyn Mecham said. “I was happy for the girls to come back after the Dixie loss; they showed great character.
CONGRATS TO BROOKE AND MANDY ON THE GREAT SEASON
