Mayer Lutheran sweeps Minneota for Class 1A volleyball championship

“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.

“We just like to make it interesting,” said Minneota coach Hayley Fruin. “Tied it up. We had our chances. It’s hard when you lose those.

“But you’re hopeful that you gained some momentum for set three. But just them winning that one at the end there, I think it just, momentum stayed on their side. They had all the energy and confidence.”

Martin and sophomore teammate Courtney Tuttle led their team with 10 kills each. Minneota sophomore Jaylyn Coequyt recorded a match-high 16 kills.

The third set started out back and forth until Mayer Lutheran grabbed a secure hold with a 6-1 run.

Mayer Lutheran also started the match well, jumping out to a 5-0 lead on the way to winning the first set.

Both programs came into Saturday’s match with plenty of state tournament history, the Crusaders in their 18th state tournament and the Vikings making a 16th trip. Each school came in hoping for a fifth state championship.

Mayer Lutheran also defeated Minneota 2-0 in invitational play, back on Sept. 7. Minneota finished as the state runner-up to Mayer Lutheran in 2021. Since 2017, the Crusaders are 3-1 against Minneota in the state championship.

The Crusaders are 2-2 in state championship matches the past four years, winning titles in 2021 and now 2024. It’s their fifth volleyball state title overall, and their fourth since 2016.