Seven players to watch in the volleyball state tournament at Xcel Energy Center
The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in Class 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A take place in St. Paul at Xcel Energy Center beginning Wednesday, with championship matches Saturday.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 6, 2024 at 12:00PM
Reeder, committed to Arizona, is an explosive 6-1 outside hitter and the only returning player from last year’s Class 4A all-tournament team. This season, the Anoka junior has recorded 367 kills on 30.7% hitting, plus 245 digs. In the Tornadoes’ 3-2 section championship victory over Centennial, Reeder had a match-best 29 kills to book Anoka its sixth trip to Xcel Energy Center.
No. 7 seed Anoka (22-7), looks to improve upon its third-place finish last year but first has to face No. 2 Champlin Park at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Tornadoes lost a five-set match against Champlin Park in September.
Kaelyn Bjorklund, Lakeville South
On a balanced, top-ranked Lakeville South team, 6-1 setter Bjorklund is the creating force, with 644 assists — plus 75 service aces — in only her sophomore season. Ranked by PrepDigs among the top recruits in the 2027 class, the Cougars (29-2) will be lucky to have Bjorklund in the driver’s seat for a few more years.
But for now, she will help No. 1 Lakeville South face No. 8 Apple Valley in the Class 4A quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Bjorklund had 32 assists when the Cougars swept Apple Valley 3-0 in September.
Mya Foslien, West Central
West Central (27-4) is in their second consecutive Class 1A tournament, thanks in part to 5-10 senior outside hitter Foslien. The University of Jamestown commit is a powerful six-rotation player with 391 kills and 286 digs for the Knights.
Seeded fourth, West Central will take on No. 5 Kittson County Central at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Kyla Hellickson, Fillmore Central
The Falcons libero is among the state’s most targeted players on service receptions, with 631 this season. The 5-7 junior has also recorded 473 digs for the No. 6 seed in Class 1A, including 21 in their 3-1 Section 1 championship upset of Mabel-Canton. The Falcons (17-15) took down the team ranked second in Class 1A by the coaches’ association at the end of the regular season.
They will look to Hellickson’s defense against No. 3 New Life Academy in their quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m. Thursday.
McKenna Garr, Rush City
A Ms. Baden Award finalist for the top senior volleyball player in the state, Garr has helped Rush City to three consecutive Class 2A tournaments — including a runner-up finish last year. The future Gophers libero has 1,680 career digs and 284 service aces and, this year, she helped the Tigers (28-3) to another Section 7 title.
The No. 7 Tigers face No. 2 Chatfield at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Jaelyn LaPlante, Chatfield
LaPlante, a senior, has been a crucial part of Chatfield’s first trip to the Class 2A tournament. The 5-9 six-rotation outside hitter is committed to play collegiately at Minnesota State Mankato and has a recorded 386 kills on 33.5% hitting this fall.
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No. 2 Chatfield (28-4) defeated Winona Cotter 3-0 to claim the Class 2A, Section 1 title and book its quarterfinal match against No. 7 Rush City.
Ellery Ehresmann, Albany
Ehresmann, a 5-6 senior setter, has helped Albany (29-3), the top seed in Class 2A, return to the state tournament for the first time since 2003. She recorded 49 of her 668 assists in the Huskies’ 3-2 victory over Sauk Centre in the Section 6 championship. Since collecting her 1,000th career assist in early September, Ehersmann has been feeding a big hitting season from Albany senior middle/outside hitter Hannah Klein.
Albany has its quarterfinal matchup against No. 8 New London-Spicer set for 1 p.m. Thursday.
The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in four classes take place at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul beginning Wednesday, with championship matches Saturday.
