Photo: Jake McNeil Minneota’s Sara Grunes, 5, and Elivia Farris, 9, make a block during the 3A North semifinal game against Renville County West in Marshall on Oct. 29. I decided.
ST. PAUL — Playing in the 2024 Class A state tournament for the sixth time in seven seasons, the Minneota Vikings volleyball team takes another leap forward after missing the 2023 tournament and advances to state this year with young members. One week at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul will be hoping to return to the title fight.
Mineota enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed with an overall record of 24 wins and 10 losses, and is on a season-high seven-game winning streak. The Vikings defeated Westbrook-Walnut Grove in the 3A section championship over the weekend.
“I’m excited for the kids, and they’ve earned it.” Minneota State head coach Haley Fruin said. “They worked really hard, so I’m happy to be able to put it together now.”
Minneota lost to Russell-Tyler-Leuston in the sectional semifinals and missed the 2023 state tournament. RTR lost to WWG in the sectional semifinals this season and was eliminated from the state tournament.
However, the Vikings will be fighting to take back the championship in 2022 and make amends for the opportunity they missed last year. The University of Minneota was also the 2021 runner-up, but lost to No. 1 seed Mayer Lutheran in this year’s tournament.
“[We’re]just trying to focus on the day-to-day rather than setting an end goal.” Mr. Fruin said. “We’re trying to get through it little by little and hope it takes some of the pressure off the kids.”
The full-in roster has the core four players who were on the 2022 state championship team and hopes they can help set the pace for the team. Two seniors, Nevae Hennen and Elivia Farris, and juniors Abigail Rorbicki and Sara Grunes are also the oldest players on the team.
“They’ve been here before. They have experience here, they’ve won state championships before.” Fruin said. “I hope they can take the pressure off the young players, but don’t try to put it just on themselves. Make sure this is a team effort and everyone feels confident. Please make sure you can play.”
Minneota begins tonight against No. 7 Ely, making its third straight state appearance. The Timberwolves started the season with a record of 27-3 and have won 14 straight games, all but two of which have been sweeps.
“I think we work very well as a team. I’ve heard from others as well that we just flow as a team. We move around and fill in the gaps as needed.” or pick up the seams.” Ely head coach Megan Wagnum said. “I think it really comes down to the amount of time our girls put in outside of the season, and I think a lot of that is due to their passion for the sport.”
Ely and Minneota both finished the regular season undefeated in conference play.
The Timberwolves lost to Meyer Lutheran in the first round of the state tournament the past two seasons, but Lutheran finished as runner-up both times.
“Honestly, I think it depends on the first pitch. I think if you get into a rhythm, you’ll be fine.” Wagnum said. “(I) try to remind them it’s a wild atmosphere, but it’s an honor to be here and we just have to make the most of it.”
The opening match between the two teams will be a battle between young players. Like Minneota, Ely has two seniors, two juniors and seven sophomores.
Claire Thomas and Leal Resicki are seniors who have been on the team in the past two state tournaments.
“We have a very young team, so there are some nerves that come with that.” Wagnum said. “It’s great for Claire and Leal to get the young kids on the ground and just let them know that this is important, but when you’re on the floor, you focus on what you’re going to do here. Just that is fine.”
For Minneota, Fruin said the offense is something the team needs to continue to hone.
“Pass and serve, I always say that, it’s very important. If we can stay aggressive behind the service line and minimize mistakes.” Mr. Fruin said. “There are moments where we can make big runs, but then we also allow other teams to make big runs, so we have to focus on that a little bit more and limit other teams’ runs while limiting our own. I’m trying to take advantage of my team.”
For Ely, that will be the defensive end that Wagnum is looking to strengthen.
“I definitely think we’re going to be challenged a little bit defensively. I think we’re going to have to work on getting down low and being ready more than we think we are.” Wagnum said. “Defensive work is definitely something we practice all the time and something we can always improve on.”
In addition to the seniors on each team, there are players that each coach is keeping an eye on as leaders this week.
“Eden Meagher, she played last year and made it all the way to the sectional final, so she’s been in a lot of high-pressure games and situations like that.” Fruin said. “So we’re looking for her to step up. She’s a six-rotation player right now and she also hits some smart shots.”
Ely’s Audrey Kallberg is the team leader in digs, blocks and second to Lesich in kills.
“Our middle hitter, Audrey Kullberg, is someone who can encourage people and guide them when they’re down.” Wagnum said. “(Kullberg) shows that it’s okay to be confident, it’s okay to believe you can do it even if you feel like you’re being controlled.”
The Vikings and Timberwolves met earlier this season on September 20th in the Burnsville Tournament, with Minneota winning 2-0 in sets of 25-16 and 25-20.
“I’m excited to play in Minneota. I’ve watched film of our game and watched some of their games and it’s fun to watch them play. They play a solid block. We have, and we have some really strong hitters, which you don’t always see where we live.” Wagnum said. “I think if we’re mentally prepared and defensively ready, we can handle whatever comes our way.”
Coach Fruin does not believe that September’s victory will be cemented in any way, creating a mindset among his team that previous competitions do not reflect this week’s results.
“We’re young, they’re young, and they’re getting better and better. They beat some really good teams in the state.” Fruin said. “We’re talking about that game back in September and we know we’ve got to play better because they’re getting better as well.”
All players from both teams are healthy and no injuries were recorded during the tournament.
Minneota and Ely will take to court 2 at Xcel Energy Center tonight at 7 p.m. The winner will face the winner of No. 3 New Life Academy of Woodbury and No. 6 Fillmore Central on Friday at 3 p.m. The loser will fall into the repechage bracket and play Friday at 3 p.m. We’ll be playing at 1 or 3 p.m.
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