(11/16/18) If you ask the players and coaches at Champlin Park High School (CPHS) about what it feels like to be a state champion, they’ll tell you it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. Since celebrating a thrilling five-set win over top-seeded Eagan High School on Nov. 10, they have been busy.
Five members of the CPHS volleyball team signed letters of intent on Nov. 14 to continue their academic and athletic careers at NCAA Division I institutions and the day following the championship, many members were scheduled to try out for club teams. (Photo from Champlin Park volleyball and Lauren Clark, Twitter.)
“It definitely took some time for it to kick in,” said Izzy Ashburn, a senior at CPHS who recently signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Big Ten. “The next day, after getting together, we realized that we accomplished what we wanted to over the last four years.”
Ashburn was named to the Class AAA All-State team in 2018 and was also named the Ms. Baden award winner, which is given to the player of the year in the state of Minnesota.
CPHS volleyball has been no stranger to big games. The Rebels lost in the state championship match to Eagan in 2016 and finished third in 2017. With their sights set on a state championship in 2018, the Rebels entered the state tournament with just two losses, one of them to Eagan.
The Rebels jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the state championship match but would have to battle to walk out of the Xcel Energy Center as state champions.
“We know how good they (Eagan) are and that they were going to battle and respond,” said John Yunker, CPHS volleyball head coach. “I thought our girls responded very well and we had a chance to win in sets three and four. Once we got to the fifth, I told them we needed to lay everything on the line and we did and made it exciting for everyone. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how many sets it took, it was an incredible moment to see them celebrate after winning.”
Lauren Clark, who will graduate early to enroll at Penn State in January, finished the match with 16 kills, two blocks and two aces. Clark said she was ready to put everything she had into that fifth set.
“That was my mindset,” Clark said. “This will be my last time playing a high school match and I might as well go out and do everything I possibly can to help the team win and leave everything on the floor.”
Yunker put together an impressive group with five Division I commits in one class. Holly Blaska, who signed a letter of intent to play softball at Miami University in Ohio, joined the volleyball team her senior year to compete with her friends is now a state champion.
“That is something that will probably never happen again,” Yunker said. “Very special, they are all great kids and have worked hard and displayed selflessness and didn’t care much about the personal recognition, but wanted to get this done together. I am extremely proud of them.”
The 2018 CPHS volleyball team will forever be remembered as the first team to win a state championship in the program’s history and has set the bar high for the future. Yunker said the senior class has demonstrated to the younger players how big of an impact playing as a team has made and thinks that will benefit the program moving forward.
The 2018 MSHSL State Volleyball Tournament was held Nov. 8-10 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Blaine High School loses in 6A state semifinals
Blaine High School was defeated by defending champion Eden Prairie High School 34-14 in the semifinals of the 6A state football tournament on Thursday, Nov. 15.
Blaine was looking for its second state title in football (1988). The team finishes the season 11-1.
