Twist, shout and shake it all about

It takes more than six girls to make a successful volleyball team.
Minneota’s No. 1-ranked squad may have a starting nucleus that matches any in the state — but there’s more to this team. Just take a look at the bench and you’ll see a group of girls who may not be playing, but they’re every bit part of the success of the 2018 Minneota Vikings.
“The best part of this team is that everybody cares ... and everyone wants to win. Our bench is awesome. Do you see how they get into the game?” said Coach Hayley Fruin.
It’s been said that a good team is only as good as the reserves who test them every day.
There’s another factor. Most of them won’t be reserves forever — they’re the “next team in waiting,” in a long line of successful Minneota Volleyball teams.
“They are so awesome,” said the coach.
During the games at the Midwest Volleyball Warehouse on Satuday, Abby Hennen constantly was interacting with the players on the sidelines.
Sometimes they would laugh, sometimes react in another way and almost all of the time, they were giving “backup” to the team on the floor.
Coach Fruin likes the way her team, “Made a statement” at the tournament.
“People were all watching us and they were watching our bench, too,” she said.
The girls on the bench may be substitutes, or they may be JV players waiting for their turn — but they have turned, big part, into cheerleaders.
“This team had a goal,” said Coach Fruin.
Coming into the tournament, the No. 1 team was Waterville-Elisian-Morristown. (WEM)Leaving it, there was no doubt the No. 1 team is Minneota.
In all fairness, WEM came into the tournament fresh from a series of tornadoes that swept through their three communities last week and caused havoc on their lives.
“They certainly have a lot more on their minds than volleyball,” said one fan.
“One of the girls mother’s lost her business in that tornado,” the fan said.
WEM played rather listless, but once the facts were known, it wasn’t hard to figure out why.
The team was playing a game the night the tornado hit and everyone had to hide out in the school basement.
The entire city of Morristown — population 988 — was without power and water, and about a dozen homes were uninhabitable. Widespread power failures were reported and officials advised affected residents to stay with family and friends for a few days.
School was also called off in Waterville-Elysian-Morristown.
“The sky was still. Then the wind picked up and, bang!” said one resident — and they and  to find her neighbor’s deck driven through her living room wall.
So it might not have been an accurate showing by the WEM squad at the tournament.
They struggled to defeat MACCRAY, 25-13; 23-25 and 15-9, then had to rally to beat Windom, 24-16; 25-18 and 15-11.
But in the championship round, they lost 2-0 to Mayer Lutheran.
All the while Minneota was playing excellent volleyball, the “Benchleaders,” combination of Bench Players and Cheerleaders, were swaying too and fro, dancing, cheering and generally enjoying themselves.
“They were having fun. The other players make them giggle and make ‘em laugh.  I think our bench should have been the all-tournament team,” laughed Coach Fruin.
“We all just work hard and have fun doing it. We’ve got each other’s back,” said senior hitter Lizzy Gillingham.
Senior setter Morgan Kockelman said a little light-hearted setting keeps them loose.
“We made a bet with the coach and we won,” she giggled.
The bet was if they win, the coach would cancel a practice.
It’s that kind of spirit that has this team wrapped up in a 17-1 record and the No. 1 spot in the state rankings.
So while Waterville-Elysian-Morristown had to deal with the worst kind of disaster, Minneota was building it’s own reputation.
They were having fun, they were loose — and they were winning.
That’s quite a combination.