The battle for No. 1 turned into the Berit Parten show.
A Minnehaha Academy junior forward, Parten scored all six of her team's goals, leading the Redhawks, ranked first in Class 1A by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association, to a 6-0 victory Tuesday over No. 2 St. Paul Academy. She ran her week's total to nine goals with one against Breck on Thursday and two against Visitation on Saturday.
"Berit reaches another level in all our big games, but her performance against St. Paul Academy was something else," Redhawks coach Bryan Hollaway said. "It was like watching Steph Curry when he's hot. Berit seemed destined to score or create an opportunity for a teammate every time she got the ball."
Parten, who has 22 goals and 12 assists this season, scored four times in the opening half against St. Paul Academy, which has yielded only three goals in its other five games.
"What was particularly impressive about her six-goal barrage was how each goal showcased a different skill set to find the back of the net: power from distance, finesse curler that hugs the post, stealing the ball from a defender, being played through by a teammate, dribbling at her defenders and of course the Olimpico [scored directly from a corner kick] to cap it off," Hollaway said.
The defending state champion Redhawks graduated only three players from last season's 16-2-2 team.
"This is a tight-knit team after such an incredible run to the championship last year," Hollaway said. "The girls have matured from last year."
The Redhawks (7-1) have a matter they would like to take care of before defending the state championship: winning the Independent Metro Athletic Conference. They lost 3-2 to No. 4 Breck on Thursday and have one loss in league play, as does Breck. Four of the top six teams in the rankings reside in the IMAC, the other being No. 6 Providence Academy.
