Munster looking to make a stand

Munster defensive specialists Mariana Rogers and Emily Milojkovitch watched helplessly on the sidelines as a dominant LaPorte front row mercilessly attacked their six Mustangs teammates with shot after shot after shot.

The home court advantage — along with having the best player in the region in Kim Trojan — was just too much as the Slicers won their first regional championship in 20 years with a three-game sweep over Munster last year.

But Rogers and Milojovitch aren’t going to stand for that this season when Valparaiso comes to town Tuesday night with the regional title on the line.

After playing sparingly in last year’s regional match, the two defensive specialists gained plenty of experience on the varsity this season and have formed one of the top defensive back rows in the region.

And they are hoping to help Munster hang a new banner of its own at the school on Columbia Ave., which hasn’t won a regional title since 1996.

Munster coach Tracy Afman said it starts with the 5-foot-4 Milojkovitch and 5-3 Rogers.

“I think that they are one of the keys,” she said. “We have a well-balanced team but one of our strengths is our defense and serve receive is so important to start the offense.

“Emily is such a true leader out there for us. She gave a speech before our sectional final that she wrote out and read in front of the team. I was so impressed I thought, ‘Hey, you could be coach for the day.’ That was exciting for the girls. And Mariana hits the floor and she’s so loud out there. Her heart, she wears on her sleeve and if you keep that emotion in check and not get rattled, that’s just unstoppable.”

These two teams faced off on Aug. 18. Valparaiso (33-4) got the best of the Mustangs (30-7) in that match winning, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23. Carrie Clark led the way for the Vikings with 12 kills, while teammates Brigid Scannel and Sara Clark contributed eight kills each. Rogers had seven digs in the loss, while Milojkovitch had six digs.

Afman said she’s toughened up the two defensive specialists and thinks they have improved 10-fold in the two months since that first meeting.

“I’m pretty hard on them in terms of fixing this or doing that,” Afman said. “My girls don’t blame other people; if they miss a dig I try to find out, ‘Were you looking at the opposite hitter’s hip or can we try to do some reading?’ Our serve receive broke down last year in regionals but I’m not as worried about that this year.”

Rogers said the grueling practices have made her and Milojkovitch better defensive players.

“She’s worked us by yelling at us to get to the ball,” the junior said. “But it’s good yelling because it’s helped us understand how important it is to get in the right position when the ball comes to us.”

Milojkovitch, whose picture currently sits on a billboard on I-65 and US-30 for her academic and athletic accomplishments, thinks the little experience each girl got from last year’s regional match should be beneficial too.

“I think it’s helped us with our mental game; the skills and fundamentals we’ve practiced all year-round but the mental aspect we don’t get to experience all the time,” she said. “Both of us have improved and both of us want this title.”

Afman said it will come down to one simple thing: defense.

“The team that serves more aggressively and passes better is the team that is going to win,” she said. “That’s been our motto all season.”

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