Large-class volleyball field lacks clear favorite

Rally scoring replaces odd-man rushes this week in St. Paul as the state volleyball tournament gets underway Thursday morning at Xcel Energy Center and continues through Saturday afternoon's championship matchups in all three classes.

Parity permeates the field

There are no undefeated teams in any of the three classes. Eden Prairie coach Chad Becker counts his Eagles among five or six in the eight-team Class 3A field with a legitimate chance at winning it all.

"I asked the girls after we won the section if they were just happy to be going to the state tournament for the second time in school history or if they were going to try to win it," he said. "And unquestionably, they want to win it. All eight teams are great, but if you saw the way we played [in the section tournament], we're not going to back down from anyone."

Becker's team received the last of the four tournament seeds.

"There is not that team where you go, 'Geez, how are we going to stop them?' " Becker said. "Some teams have a little bit better record, but I think the teams are pretty evenly skilled."

Hutchinson up to 3A challenge

Defending Class 2A runner-up Hutchinson is not among the six teams back in the 2A field this year, but the Tigers will be playing. That's because they bumped up to Class 3A this year and defeated Shakopee in five games in the Section 2 championship.

"It shows that we can play competitive volleyball at a high level," coach Dennis Piechowski said. "There are some really, really good teams in [Class] 2A, but in 3A it's about depth and some of these teams have two, three times the enrollment we do."

Case in point: Hutchinson's opening-round match against No. 1 seed Blaine, a school of 2,551 students. That's 1,789 more than Hutchinson.

Piechowski, though, isn't about to make excuses. "We've played big schools as much as we could," he said. "Half of our team is back. We like our experience."

Bumps

• Class 1A top seed Bethlehem Academy is back after a one-year absence. The Cardinals have won four state championships since 2003.

• Thursday's opening-round 1A match between No. 2 seed Mayer Lutheran and Nevis is a regular-season rematch. Mayer Lutheran won 2-0 in the Class A Showcase Tournament in September.

• Stewartville, the No. 3 seed in Class 2A, makes its 21st tournament appearance.

• It's a debut appearance for BOLD (1A), Maple Lake (2A) and Bemidji (3A)

• All three championship matches Saturday will be available live and for free on the web at 45.GrandStadium.tv.