1ST STATE BOYS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
Hmong Academy won the state’s first boys volleyball tournament with a sweep of host Christian Life. Let’s back up a second. There were five teams playing boys volleyball this year, all in the Twin Cities Athletic Conference. Technically this was the conference tournament, but it is, in effect, also the state tournament.
There were none of the trappings of a state tournament. Fans could attend with no cost. There were no programs, no bands, no announcements/introductions, no national anthems.
There were officials and there was action. The day started off with two semifinals. In the first match up it was #1 seed Hmong Academy over Prairie Seeds 25-7, 25-11, 25-17. There was a delay for the next semifinal. Community of Peace Academy was about 20 minutes late. Host & #2 seed Christian Life swept COPA 25-15, 25-22, 25-16. That set up the championship bout with Hmong Academy taking the first ever boys title 25-14, 25-13, 25-12.
We should also back up. The teams from Hmong College Prep Academy (HCPA), COPA and PS are close to 100% Southeast Asian. Christian Life, which is located in Farmington, could be out of the Happy Days era. The CL Hawks have players that are much bigger, so their net presence is felt. Most are basketball players. Some do double duty in the spring with baseball. HCPA, despite their size disadvantage, was more aggressive and covered the floor defensively and also covered blocks. The Warriors have played more games outside of the season and understood some strategy. With CL establishing the block at the net, and after a series of hitting errors, HCPA went for the soft tip over the block or placement in the deep corners for points. The Warriors serve game also kept CL off balance with short serves. It also took away the better swing opportunities for the Hawks.
HCPA finished the year 8-0 in matches and 24-1 in sets.
Boys volleyball’s main driver is HCPA’s athletic director Sher Yang. The hope is now that more schools will start teams. The first area of growth will be more TCAC teams, but don’t be surprised when other public schools take part. This has the potential to grow explosively fast. There is a ready pool of coaches and there are colleges that will give scholarships.
There was another thing that baffled me. Five players served underhand from the four teams I saw today. You don’t see that on the girls side. But what is even more puzzling is the run of five off it (twice).
Between the semifinal, the TCAC named their All Conference team (the de facto All State team).
Yashwin Suri, Math & Science 11
John Yang, Prairie Seeds
Phakou Phong Xiong, Prairie Seeds
Xee Xai Lee, Prairie Seeds
Her Vang, Community of Peace
Bee Vang, Community of Peace
Ethan Rich, Christian Life 12
Luke Strother, Christian Life
Kyle Ringley, Christian Life 11
Tidley Yang, Hmong Academy 11
Alex Yang, Hmong Academy 11
Kongchi Chang, Hmong Academy 9
Kalvin Moua, Hmong Academy
Joey Xiong, Hmong Academy 11
Challenge Xiong, Hmong Academy
CHAMPIONSHIP
rotation, player, position, aces-blocks-kills–totals
HMONG ACADEMY
1. #3 Joey Xiong, S/OH, 11 2-0-7—–9
2. #4 Mong Vang 0-0-3—-3
2. #28 Johnny Moua 0-0-0—-0
2. #11 Alex Yang, 11 0-0-4—–4
3. #19 Challenge Xiong, OH 8-0-0—–8
3. #24 Elijah Yang, 9 0-0-2—–2
4. #6 Tidley Yang, MH, 11 1-0-3—–4
5. #7 Kalvin Moua, L 1-0-1—–2
5. #10 Muachine Vang, 11 3-0-2—–5
6. #9 Kongchi Chang, OH, 9 1-0-8—–9
totals: 16-0-30—–46 points, 29 points on Christian Life errors
CHRISTIAN LIFE
1. #34 Bubba S, BR 1-0-0——1
1. #23 Luke S, MH 0-2-0——2
2. #10 Minseob J, S 0-0-0—–0
3. #21 Michael Freilinger, OH, 12 0-0-2—–2
3. #22 Justin Koehn,OH, 12 0-0-1—–1
4. #14 Kyle Ringley,MH, 11 0-2-2——4
4. #8 Mark Y, MH 0-1-1——2
4. #2 Micah Heikkila,L, 9 0-0-0—–0
5. #11 Ethan Rich,RH, 12 0-0-4—-4
6. #24 Jacob Kyllo,OH, 9 0-0-0—-0
totals: 1-5-10—–16 points, 23 points on Hmong Academy errors
TRENCH PLAYER
Joey Xiong of HCPA
EARNED POINTS PER SET
Hmong Academy 11-15-20—–46
Christian Life 6-5-5—–16
BY THE NUMBERS
| Stat | Hmong Academy | Christian Life |
| Side out | 16/26-.615 | 8/26-.308 |
| Points | 75 | 39 |
| Runs 3+ | 13 | 4 |
| String | 6 | 4 |
| Service Points | 49 | 15 |
| Points after 11 | 42 | 19 |
| Missed Serves | 3 | 6 |
| Time Outs | – | 0/2-.000 |
| Set Point % | 3/4-.750 | – |
RACE TO …
set 5 10 15 20 25
1 HA HA HA HA HA
2 CL HA HA HA HA
3 HA HA HA HA HA
BIGGEST LEAD
teams 1 2 3
Hmong Academy 11 12 13
Christian Life 1 4 2