By Bruce Karnick

Volleyball Head Coach Amy Johnson is back in green and could not be more excited about it.

“I bleed green, so being back with the Wolfpack for me is just super exciting, and these girls are just so much fun to be around.” Johnson returns to Cottage Grove as head coach after coaching in Hastings for 4 years. “Every day in practice is just a joy because these girls are just so fun to be around.”

Cretin-Derham Hall was the season opening opponent and Coach Johnson knew they would be tough to beat. They are a well-coached team and always play hard.

“I do have a little bit of a personal rivalry with Cretin, I grew up in St. Paul, so I always have a little extra push to try to beat them,” Johnson joked.

Coach Johnson felt they started out slow, maybe it was first game jitters, but once they settled down, they were locked in. Park would defeat Cretin in three straight sets behind strong play from Captain Emma Slusser, great defense from Natalia Ehnstrom, and sophomore Kendall Lewis made some great plays as well. It was an overall great team win.

“I’m a coach that, it starts with defense. If you have a good solid defense, the rest is going to fall into place. Plus, we have some great finishers. [The team] is really the whole package,” added Johnson.

During the interview, AD Phil Kuemmel jumped in to thank Coach Johnson and her team for doing so well with the COVID re- strictions. Something that cannot be lost in all of this. Yes, things are starting to look more normal for these athletes and coaches, but they still have a bunch of extra things to worry about to be able to keep playing. Any time they come off the court, they are supposed to immediately wear their masks. They have to maintain physical distancing if they are not playing, for the first game, fans were still not allowed in the gym. That has since changed. The venue cannot exceed more than 25 percent capacity, if staff and players cannot be at least 12 feet from fans, then players and staff count towards the 25 percent. Fans must wear masks and maintain six feet of physical distancing between family pods. There can be no ticket sales at the door and sales must be processed online or via phone. Tickets are limited to two per athlete. Fans are discouraged from gathering at the venue more than a few minutes prior to the start of the event and must leave as quickly as possible upon conclusion of the event. All these rules have been put in place by the MSHSL. Please do not show up at an indoor event without a previously acquired ticket.