2019 State Volleyball Summary
Minneota defends Class A title; Wayzata wins first championship in Class AAA
Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - 12:31 PM
The Minneota Vikings (Class A) were the only team to defend their title at the 2019 Volleyball State Tournament. They defeated Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 3-0 this year.
The defending champions from North Branch (Class AA) fell to the perennial qualifiers from Stewartville 3-2. The Tigers claimed their fifth championship overall, but first since 2014.
In Class AAA, the Wayzata Trojans earned their first title after defeating Eagan 3-2.
Abby Frie (9) and Abby Hennen (1) of Minneota go up for the block against Toryn Richards (3) of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. The Minneota Vikings earned their second consecutive title after defeating the Buccaneers 3-0.
Class A
The top-seeded Vikings of Minneota (33-3) earned their second consecutive title and their third overall. They defeated the No. 2-seeded Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Buccaneers 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) in the title match. The Vikings were making their third consecutive appearance and 13th overall. Minneota won its only other title in 2006.
The Buccaneers (34-3) were making their second overall appearance, but first since 2015.
Sophomore Natalee Rolbiecki led the Vikings’ attack with 14 kills and sophomore McKenna Yost put up 29 assists. Junior Toryn Richards had 10 kills and 17 digs for Waterville-Elysian-Morristown.
Medford settled for third place after defeating Fosston 3-0 (25-23, 28-26, 26-24). Greenway of Coleraine rebounded to take consolation honors. The Raiders defeated Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18).
North Branch's Haley Hadrava (24) tries to get ball past Jaidyn Brower (6) and Jolie Stecker (2) of Stewartville during the Class AA championship match. Stewartville, which was making its 24th tournament appearance, earned its fifth title after defeating North Branch 3-2.
Class AA
The No. 1-seeded Stewartville Tigers (30-4) earned their fifth championship after posting a 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12) victory over the defending champions from North Branch. The Tigers, who won previously in 1991, 1997, 2000, and 2014, were making their 24th overall appearance.
The North Branch Vikings (29-5) were making their third consecutive and sixth overall appearance. They came in as the No. 3 seed this year.
Stewartville was led by junior Erin Lamb with 21 kills and senior Kaitlyn Prodzinski who added 18 more. Jaidyn Brower had 46 assists for the Tigers. North Branch’s Cianna Selbitschka was dominant with 33 kills and 17 digs.
Belle Plaine claimed third-place honors after defeating Concordia Academy-Roseville 3-2 (26-28, 17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-9). Marshall went home with the consolation hardware. The Tigers beat Watertown-Mayer 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-15).
Class AAA
In Class AAA, Wayzata (31-3) upset Eagan 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 25-21, 19-25, 16-14). The Trojans, who were seeded No. 2 this year, were making their seventh appearance. Their last appearance was in 2010.
Eagan (30-1), which entered the tournament as the top seed, was making its seventh consecutive and 16th overall appearance. This was the third consecutive runner-up showing for the Wildcats,
Junior Sophie Jesewitz led Wayzata with 25 kills. Senior Kate Long added 20 kills and senior Olivia Johnson was credited with 58 assists. Eagan got an all-around game from junior Kennedi Orr with 12 kills, 10 digs, and 25 assists. Sophomore Sienna Ifill had 13 kills for the Wildcats.
North of North St. Paul claimed third-place honors this year. The Polars defeated Minnetonka 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-9). The Lakeville North Panthers won this year’s consolation title after defeating St. Louis Park 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18).
Head coach Scott Jackson (center) takes a moment with his Wayzata team during the Class AAA title match. The Trojans, who were seeded No. 2, upset top-seeded Eagan 3-2 and went home with their first championship.