“Ohs” and “whoas” were audible in the postmatch news conference when Mayer Lutheran coach Joelle Grimsley and four of her players discussed just how close they came to letting their second-set lead slip away.
Up a set and leading 23-16, Minneota went on a 7-0 run to tie the match.
“That’s a lot,” Grimsley said. “You just see those numbers turning, and you’re like, ‘Oh no. Oh no.’
“But we’ve been in that situation before a couple times.”
Top-seeded Mayer Lutheran collected itself and found a way to win the second set on the way to a sweep of No. 2 seed Minneota in Saturday’s Class 1A volleyball championship match at Xcel Energy Center. The Crusaders (31-5) won 25-14, 27-25, 25-17 to secure their fifth state title overall and first since 2021 after finishing as the runner-up the past two years.
On match point, senior Marley Martin sealed the victory with her 10th kill of the match. It’s everything she could have dreamed of, she said, after the way the title match ended her sophomore season: She tipped the ball out of bounds on the final point of that five-set loss to Minneota in 2022.
“It’s just surreal to finally be able to put it down,” Martin said. “And wear the blue ribbon. So I’m just so beyond words.”
For the second day in row, Minneota (26-11) found itself down a set and trailing 23-16 in the second set. In Friday’s semifinal, the Vikings found a way to win that set and even the match. Saturday, their 7-0 run and tying the set two more times wasn’t quite enough to replicate the comeback magic.
