Following the win against Moorhead Nov. 8 in the State consolation semifinals, Park lost to Lakeville North Nov. 9 with a set score of 1-3.

According to junior captain Hannah Howell, going into the game Nov. 9 the goal was to repeat the strengths from Nov. 8.

“We knew we wanted to play how we did yesterday: all out, having fun, staying aggressive, no hesitation. We wanted that to translate over because we can beat anyone when we play like that,” Howell said.

According to junior Reagan Alexander, having had tough matches for three consecutive days has helped the team improve.

“The more games we played, the more comfortable we were,” Alexander said. “Even though we were tired, we pushed through and played better with each game.”

Howell said she is glad so many people came out to encourage the team.

“It’s really huge because we know we have all of that support behind us. It’s a Saturday, it’s 9 a.m. and yet all of these people came out to watch us play,” Howell said. “It really shows how excited they were that we made it here, and that we have the whole community behind us.”

According to coach Whitney Meierotto-Simon, having the opportunity to attend State has been beneficial for the team.

“I think the experience in going through the situations has helped us prepare for each year more and more, like being here at State is only going to help us prepare for next year.  It doesn’t get bigger than this, and the girls just experienced that and did really well throughout the experience,” Meierotto-Simon said.

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Senior Zoe Younger said she came out to the game because she enjoyed watching it despite having to give up her Saturday morning.

“I came on Thursday and Friday and I had a lot of fun. I think it’s really uncommon for St. Louis Park to make (State) in any sport, so when (a team) makes it to State we should all go out and support (them),” Younger said.

Sophomore Danny Shope said he enjoyed coming out to the game even though the team lost.

“Volleyball is honestly such a fun sport to watch, there is so much action, there have been so many cool plays,” Shope said.

Alexander said she is excited to see what the future holds for Park volleyball.

“This definitely brought us closer as a team,” Alexander said. “We’re losing seniors but we have a majority of juniors on the team, so I feel like this whole experience is definitely going to bring us together and we will play better as a team next year.”