#1 EDINA 4, #3 JOHNSON 3
Crunching the numbers we see that Johnson gained steam as the match wore on with an uptick of points in the second set (and third). You could also say a fade for Edina. Doubles has been the Edina strength all year but Johnson pulled a surprise at second doubles. Both first and second doubles in the second set went to extra points. The only position to hold form at doubles was third doubles with Edina rolling in the second set there. Singles was an outright tie with Johnson holding sway with points and margin, however narrow it may have been. The deciding fourth point that garnered the Hornet victory came at third singles and even that was a nailbiter at 19 & 18.
SINGLES
1 Su Meh, J def Hazel Dang 21-17, 21-16
2 Aarushi Bhatnagar, E def Gaonou Vang 21-16, 21-16
3 Evelyn Ge, E def Sandy Moua 21-19, 21-18
4 Amanda Her, J def Claire Watz 21-13. 21-10
DOUBLES
1 Ivy Peterson / Sanna Coma, E def Anastasia Vang / Sammie Yang 21-6, 22-20
2 Shalisha Vang / Krystal Moua, J def Bergan Pickett / Juman Alkhatib 15-21, 25-23, 21-15
3 Ella Burke / Daisy Hennington-Hoff, E def Aliya Vang / Cammie Yang 21-13, 21-5
BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: tied 2-2 .500
Games: tied 4-4 .500
points: Johnson 153-140 .522
Set 1 points: Johnson 77-72 .517
Set 2 points: Johnson 76-68 .528
decided by 10+: Johnson 1-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Edina 2-0 1.000
margin: Johnson 1.625
DOUBLES
Matches: Edina 2-1 .667
Games: Edina 5-2
points: Edina 144-105 .578
Set 1 points: Edina 63-34 .649
Set 2 points: Edina 66-50 .569
Set 3 points: Johnson 21-15 .417
decided by 10+: Edina 2-0 1.000
decided by 3-: tied 1-1 .500
margin: Edina 5.571
FIRST SINGLES
Su MEH 2, Hazel DANG 0
(recorded 21-19, 21-16)
#1 ranked Su Meh topped #2 ranked Hazel Dang for the fourth time this season, but it wasn’t enough to derail the Hornets from their third straight team title. As has been the pattern, Meh utilized a strong side out game and squeezed more points off her service to piece together the win. Both players had the same amount of runs, but the ability to score on just a few more services, even for one point, proved to be the difference. Another area both players tied came in winners with 22 each. Meh’s most effective shot was the soft drive for eight, while Dang utilized the clear and drop game stretching the court four six points each.
Dang started the match with the first three points, all on serve. Meh’s grabbed the lead after a run of five put her up 9-6. That was her only run of the set. Dang had one more run in her to close to 17-16. But a two stroke soft drive, Meh’s second of the match, gave her space and then a five stroke drive increased the margin to 19-16.
A mega Meh run of eight early in the second gave her a commanding 10-2 lead. Of those ten points, only three were on winners. Dang had her own mega run to get right back into the contest with seven straight to make it 11-10. In that sequence five of Dang’s points came on winners. It remained a one point contest until a four point burst by Meh on her seventh service made it 18-13. Dang only was able to squeeze one point on her next two serves.
| Category | MEH | DANG |
| Side out | 14/21-.667 | 11/21-.524 |
| 3+ Runs | 3 | 3 |
| SERVING | ||
| Service points | 21 | 15 |
| POINTS | 42 | 35 |
| WINNERS | 22 | 22 |
| Aces | 0 | 1 |
| Blocks | 0 | 1 |
| Clears | 2 | 6 |
| Drives | 5 | 2 |
| Drops | 4 | 6 |
| Soft drives | 8 | 2 |
| Smashes | 3 | 4 |
| ERRORS | 13 | 20 |
| Deep | 0 | 3 |
| Net | 4 | 11 |
| Wide | 8 | 5 |
| Serve | 1 | 1 |
| W:E Ratio | 1.692 | 1.100 |
| Margin | 3.500 | |
| Set Point % | 2/4-.500 | |
| Time | 18:51 |
SEMIFINALS
Su MEH 2, Niko SOLHEID 1
(recorded 24-22, 18-21, 21-9)
This was a marathon session with a good half hour of action between these two and now the season series is tied at two wins apiece. Both players had opportunities that slipped away. Again, as usual, the player with the better side out percentage and the ability to score on serve prevailed. Winners tipped to Meh by seven, but that differential was primarily due to the drought of scoring by Solheid in set three.
There were seven lead changes in the first set. Solheid had the sixth change over at 17-14. She maintained that advantage out to 20-17. Solheid stopped three set points at 20, 21, and 22. Her final save came on a four stroke clear to the left back. Two errors later and Meh had the first set in extra points.
Meh had two runs that gave her a 9-5 lead in set two. And that lead held up almost to the end. Then it was Solheid’s turn for a torrid closing finish. Ironically it was Meh’s missed serve that opened the door for Solheid. I say ironically because Solheid had three straight services end with deep missed serves including the first attempts on six and seven. Despite those missed opportunities, Solheid made the most of her chance late with a three stroke drive to go up 19-18 followed by two hitting errors. It was off to the final set.
Meh maintained her steady play getting four runs and shutting out Solheid on five of her six services. As a result Meh turned around an early 4-2 deficit to an 8-4 lead and added to it at 13-7 and 16-8. Another missed serve opened the doors, but this time it was Meh that walked through finishing with the final five points, three of which came on winners capped by a three stroke soft drive.
Both of these matches on Wednesday were battles involving the top four players. Perhaps a preview of the semis and finals? We will await the outcomes today. Both singles and doubles champions will need to survive the gauntlet with six wins. Whoever is better prepared to withstand the ordeal will wear the crown.
| Category | MEH | SOLHEID |
| Side out | 18/30-.600 | 15/31-.484 |
| 3+ Runs | 10 | 5 |
| SERVING | ||
| Service points | 33 | 22 |
| POINTS | 63 | 52 |
| WINNERS | 32 | 27 |
| Aces | 1 | 1 |
| Blocks | 0 | 0 |
| Clears | 9 | 8 |
| Drives | 8 | 3 |
| Drops | 4 | 3 |
| Soft drives | 5 | 4 |
| Smashes | 5 | 8 |
| ERRORS | 25 | 31 |
| Deep | 5 | 5 |
| Net | 8 | 11 |
| Wide | 8 | 7 |
| Serve | 4 | 8 |
| W:E Ratio | 1.280 | 0.871 |
| Margin | 3.000 | |
| Set Point % | 2/2-1.000 | ¼-.250 |
| Time | 33:09 |