John's Journal: The Toughest Volleyball Player In Minnesota

The volleyball team from West Central Area wasn’t playing with one hand tied behind its back during the state tournament, but one of its star players has been competing with a broken hand.

Senior Mya Foslien, who was named to the Class A all-state team this season, suffered the injury Sept. 17 during a match at BOLD in Olivia. She’s a talented 5-foot-10 outside hitter who is dominant all over the court, but it’s hard to imagine playing volleyball essentially one-handed. Mya is right-handed, and the broken bone is near the base of her right thumb.

It's called the scaphoid bone. A quick online search reveals in this information: The bone “is important for wrist stability and motion.” In other words, good luck playing volleyball with a busted scaphoid.

The injury happened when Mya was doing what she always does … hustling. She was racing to a shanked ball near the bleachers when her feet went out from under her and she went down on that right hand. She knew she was injured, but she finished that match. Two days later, she sat on the bench during a match vs. Minnewaska Area before taking the court for the fourth set in a 3-1 loss.

She somehow played in the Knights’ next two West Central Conference matches – plus five matches in a Saturday tournament at Parkers Prairie -- and as the pain persisted an X-ray showed the break. She missed four matches while wearing a cast for two weeks, then returned to the lineup.

“I played with it because we had a big schedule coming up, so I finished those games out, and then got a cast,” she said. “They promised they would take it off after two weeks. So I was like, ‘That's a good deal.’ ”

She’s been playing with her hand and/or wrist wrapped. During Saturday’s Class A third-place victory over Fillmore Central, the Knights wore long sleeves, which covered athletic tape that was wrapped around Mya’s wrist. Off the court, she wears a hard brace.

“She was supposed to be done (for the year), and she made a decision to want to finish her season. So she played with it broken,” said West Central coach (and Mya’s mother) Missy Foslien. “We've been careful in checking on it, making sure that bone isn't broken off or moved at all, but also for next year (when Mya will play volleyball at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota).”

Mya will have a medical appointment on Tuesday, at which point a decision will be made; she may have another cast put on, or that may not be needed.

Mya has continued to smack the ball at the net with her right hand but has done more left-handed tipping than before the injury.

“It doesn't hurt to hit. It doesn't hurt to serve,” she said. “The things you would think it would hurt, it doesn't. It’s just like getting off the floor and pushing off. That hurts.”

Mya had 19 kills in a state quarterfinal victory over Kittson County Central, 21 in a semifinal loss to Mayer Lutheran and 17 in Saturday’s third-place win over Fillmore Central; all were team highs.

She also is a basketball player, but her volleyball future is at top of mind these days.

“If I'm going to play basketball, I don't want to sit,” she said. “It might take a week or two.”

It was no surprise when Mya was named to the Class A All-Tournament team Saturday. As the team members posed for photos with the All-Tournament banner, Mya held one corner of the banner … with her right hand.

After Mayer Lutheran defeated Minneota 3-0 in the Class A championship match, 29-year Crusaders coach Joelle Grimsley and four of her players were meeting with the media.

When a question was asked about Mayer Lutheran’s outstanding defense, Grimsley turned to the players and said, “What does defense do, girls?” All four – Courtney Tuttle, Izabelle Keaveny, Clara Keaveny and Marley Martin – responded in unison, “Wins championships.”

The title is the Crusaders’ fourth since 2016.

“It's kind of crazy,” said Clara Keaveny. “Some of us didn't think we'd be here to this day. Like Izzy and I, we came to Mayer just to get a different look and be coached by (Grimsley) obviously and just have a different environment. This is something we never thought we'd experience together.”

Southwest Christian placed second in Class 2A, losing to Hawley 3-1 in Saturday’s title match. The Stars (the school is in Chaska) had plans in place for a specific reason: head coach Emily Dzurik is in the final days before giving birth.

“Honestly, she's prepared us,” said junior Lauren Paradise. “She has been like, ‘If I end up going into labor, you guys will be fine without me.’ So she did a really good job of preparing us for that, if that were the possibility.”

Dzurik’s due date is next Friday, but with these things you never know.

“The last thing I wanted after such an incredible ending to the season is for me to be a distraction for these girls,” Dzurik said. “So we had contingency plans. These girls don't deserve to lose because I go into labor, and so we were prepared for that.”

Alexandria coach Mary Byrne is a native of Marshall who played on Tigers state tournament teams when she was in school and coached Marshall for two years, leading them to a Class 2A state runner-up finish at the Met Center in 1992. (Mary was profiled in John’s Journal earlier this week.)

Before Saturday’s Class 3A championship match, Marshall was probably seen by most neutral observers as the favorite. The Tigers were the No. 2 seed with a 28-6 record before Saturday and have won a record eight titles in 33 state appearances.

Marshall and Alexandria met once during the regular season, with the Tigers defeating the Cardinals 3-0 on Oct. 10. The result was different in the rematch, with fifth-seeded Alexandria defeating Marshall 3-1 to finish at 23-10.

“First and foremost, congratulations to Alexandria,” said Marshall coach Dan Westby. “Boy, they made everything difficult for us. The hard part, and this was certainly a concern we had coming in, was they're the kind of team that you can't afford to play from behind. We were playing from behind too much, and you can't afford to do that against a team like this.”

Westby wasn’t fooled by the Cardinals’ seed or record.

“I talked to a couple coaches prior to the tournament and I said, ‘You know, we should all be concerned with Alexandria.’ So the fact that they won the state championship isn't a shock. Certainly, we thought we had what we needed to win, but they were just too much for us tonight.”

Byrne played in the 1979 state tournament for Marshall, and prior to the state tournament she brought a souvenir sweatshirt from that event to practice and told the team, “We’re doing this. Let’s go.”

The Cardinals dealt with injuries throughout the season, with four different starters missing time.

Alexandria lost to Marshall 3-0 on Oct. 10, but the Cardinals have made big strides since then.

“We were a whole different team back then,” said Cardinals senior Addison Rossum. “That game was probably something all of us wanted to kind of forget about, just because we didn't play how we can play. Coming into this game, Mary told us we were a new team, she said, “Just pretend we've never played them. We have a new record at the state tournament.’ I think that was something that really helped us, just knowing that we can do it.”

Lakeville South and Champlin Park met three times during the regular season, with Champlin Park winning twice. The tide turned Saturday as South held off the Rebels 3-2 in the Class 4A championship match. It was South’s first title in three trips to state, previously in 2016 and 20-18.

South, which was the top seed in 4A, completed the season with a record of 32-2.

“It's insane,” said sophomore Kaelyn Bjorklund. “And I don't know when it's going to hit us, but oh, when it hits us, we're going to be partying.”

State Volleyball Tournament

Class A

Championship match: Mayer Lutheran defeated Minneota 3-0

Third-place match: West Central Area defeated Fillmore Central 3-0

Fifth-place match: New Life Academy defeated Kittson County Central 3-1

Class 2A

Championship match: Hawley defeated Southwest Christian 3-1

Third-place match: Albany defeated Chatfield 3-0

Fifth-place match: St. Croix Lutheran defeated Annandale 3-1

Class 3A

Championship match: Alexandria defeated Marshall 3-1

Third-place match: Delano defeated Stewartville 3-0

Fifth-place match: Mahtomedi defeated Monticello 3-2

Class 4A

Championship match: Lakeville South defeated Champlin Park 3-2

Third-place match: East Ridge defeated Roseville 3-0

Fifth-place match: Minnetonka defeated St. Michael-Albertville 3-1

--MSHSL senior content creator John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Threads at johnmilleamn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]