Heading into the home stretch of the season, the Holy Family volleyball team is looking to build towards its main goal: winning a postseason game.

At 10-4 overall with two weeks left in the season, the Fire are close to the point where they can see that goal come to fruition in the section 2AA tournament. Winning that first game is the main focus for the team.

“Beyond that, everything else is icing on the cake. That’s our goal,” head coach Tony Bongaarts said.

Holy Family is already one win away from matching last season’s win total. Bongaarts is impressed with how this team has taken what they learned in practices and used it to their advantage in games.

“I feel like our team is really strong in executing what we practice,” Bongaarts said. “That’s our biggest thing this year is making sure that we come in with a plan and do what we practice rather than making it up on the fly.”

One of the players who has stepped up for the Fire this season is sophomore outside hitter Sonja Laaksonen. Through 14 games, Laaksonen leads Holy Family in kills with 160 and digs with 141. Sophomore Tori Halloran is another young outside hitter who Bongaarts said has done her job well this season, as Halloran has 67 kills.

Two other players who have been important cornerstones of Holy Family’s roster are senior middle blockers Isabel Van Eyll and Lorelei Wilson. Bongaarts said Van Eyll’s hitting (87 kills) and Wilson’s blocks (36 total blocks) have been important to the Fire’s success thus far.

In addition to the team having a successful season to this point, the enjoyment of playing with one another also shines through on the court. Bongaarts has enjoyed the opportunity to coach this group of players as well.

“The girls are funny, they keep me laughing all the time. It’s a little bit like herding cats, but it’s a good time,” Bongaarts said.

Results

Holy Family (11-5) started off the week with a hard-fought five set win over Le Sueur-Henderson Oct. 3. After taking the first set 26-24, the team dropped the following two sets. The Fire did not quit, battled back to handily win the fourth set 25-12 and secured the win after a 15-9 fifth set. Laaksonen led Holy Family with 22 kills and 26 digs, while Tamara Mackey and Zoe Schuele each had 18 assists.

The Fire had another five set Oct. 6 but could not get the same result and fell 3-2 to conference rival Jordan. Holy Family won the first two sets but dropped the last three. Laaksonen had 17 kills and 11 digs and Brooklyn Weise had a team-high 17 digs. The Fire is the only team in the Wright County East without a conference win (0-3).