Revenge not an issue for THS
Don’t tell Brandon Parker the opening match of the 2007 season at Holton symbolized revenge.
Sure, Holton knocked Tonganoxie out of the Class 4A state playoffs last season at the Wildcats’ gymnasium. And yes, the Chieftains opened the season at the same venue and defeated the Wildcats in four games: 25-14, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-23.
To the Tonganoxie High co-coach, the Sept. 4 victory represented the beginning of a new season — not the continuation of last season.
“As far as getting revenge, if we wanted revenge, we’d get our two seniors (from last year — Ali Pistora and Rachel Bogard), and they’d get their seniors and we’d play again,” Parker said.
Parker attributed the quick start in Game 1 to effective serving, particularly by Sami Franiuk. The senior had five service aces. Senior Shannon Carlin added two more.
“We had not-so-great memories there,” senior Liz Baska said. “But we really didn’t focus on last year at all. We focused on new beginnings. Knowing that we can go on the road in someone else’s gym, where we didn’t have a big crowd, and get past that together helps a lot. We can now look and say, ‘We’ve done it before and we can do it again.'”
Franiuk and Tracie Hileman led Tonganoxie with 19 and 16 kills, respectively. Junior Chrissy Jeannin had 50 assists.
“It felt good to start the season with a win like that,” Franiuk said. “They were a competitive team. It’s nice to get out there for your first game and really have someone to play. I think the win helped boost our confidence and kept us up throughout (the Baldwin) game.