2024 Volleyball State Tournament Advance Release

The Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Volleyball State Tournament features complete 1-8 seeding for the first time as the 2024 edition begins Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Championship matches will be contested on Saturday in four enrollment classes. Class AAA’s Marshall is the only returning champion. Here is a look at the tournament:

Quarterfinal matchups

Wednesday, Nov. 6

Class AAAA

• No. 1 Lakeville South (29-2) vs. No. 8 Apple Valley (14-14), 1 p.m.
• No. 4 St. Michael-Albertville (24-7) vs. No. 5 Roseville Area (26-5), 1 p.m.
• No. 2 Champlin Park (28-3) vs. No. 7 Anoka (22-7), 3 p.m.
• No. 3 East Ridge (24-6)  vs. No. 6 Minnetonka (17-13), 3 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 6

Class AAA

• No. 1 Delano (30-0) vs. No. 8 Hermantown (24-5), 5 p.m.
• No. 4 Mahtomedi (25-4) vs. No. 5 Alexandria Area (20-10), 5 p.m.
• No. 2 Marshall (26-6) vs. No. 7 Monticello (18-13), 7 p.m.
• No. 3 Stewartville (26-4) vs. No. 6 Cretin-Derham Hall (19-12), 7 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 7

Class AA

• No. 1 Albany (28-2) vs. No. 8 New London-Spicer (18-17-1), 1 p.m.
• No. 4 Southwest Christian (19-12) vs. No. 5 Annandale (23-6), 1 p.m.
• No. 2 Chatfield (28-4) vs. No. 7 Rush City (28-3), 3 p.m.
• No. 3 Hawley (26-5) vs. No. 6 St. Croix Lutheran (25-1), 3 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 7

Class A

• No. 1 Mayer Lutheran (28-5) vs. No. 8 Sebeka (24-7), 5 p.m.
• No. 4 West Central Area (27-4) vs. No. 5 Kittson County Central (27-5), 5 p.m.
• No. 2 Minneota (22-11) vs. No. 7 Ely (28-3), 7 p.m.
• No. 3 New Life Academy (17-12) vs. No. 6 Fillmore Central (17-15), 7 p.m.

Spotlight

Class AAAA

• Seven of the eight Class AAAA qualifiers advanced with five-set victories in section finals. That includes a particularly thrilling fifth-set triumph for No. 1 seed Lakeville South, 20-18 over Lakeville North. Apple Valley qualified for the first time since 2001 by defeating the top two seeds in its section, Edina and Minneapolis Southwest. The Eagles’ 14 state tournament appearances are the most of this year’s Class AAAA field. St. Michael-Albertville won two straight five-set matches to advance out of Section 8AAAA, including overturning a regular-season setback to Rogers in the section final. Roseville Area arrives at the state tournament on a 12-match winning streak. Champlin Park is the only team with a win over Lakeville South and the Rebels count two of them with one loss, all in best-of-3 matches. Anoka junior Hayden Reeder is the lone returning 2023 Class AAAA All-Tournament player after helping the Tornadoes place third last year. East Ridge started 5-4 this season, but is 19-2 since, the only losses both being 2-0 to Lakeville South. Section 2AAAA No. 4 seed Minnetonka toppled Waconia in the only four-set match of these section finals after eliminating No. 1 seed Prior Lake in a five-set semifinal.

Class AAA

• The last remaining unbeaten team in any class, Delano is seeking its first state volleyball championship after three previous runner-up finishes. Three All-Tournament players are back from last year’s run to the championship match: Kaelyn Wittwer, Cassie Wegman and Lexi Champeau. Hermantown ousted No. 1 seed North Branch Area in the Section 7AAA final. Mahotomedi aims for its first state quarterfinal win in this third consecutive trip. Alexandria Area is here for the first time since 2009 thanks to a 3-1 win over Rocori in the Section 8AAA final, the only one of its three wins in that season series that didn’t go five. Marshall is the No. 2 seed, back at state for the eighth season in a row and 33rd overall. The Tigers extended their state record with their ninth state championship last year. Monticello swept its way through Section 5AAA for its fourth straight state tournament berth. Stewartville lost to Byron in three sets on Sept. 9, but outlasted the Bears in five to claim the school’s 25th state volleyball tournament bid and first since winning the 2019 Class AA title. The No. 3 seed in Section 3AAA, Cretin-Derham-Hall upended No. 2 seed South Saint Paul and No. 1 seed Visitation to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2011.

Class AA

• Albany earned its first trip to the state tournament since 2003 with a five-set win over Sauk Centre and was awarded the top seed in Class AA. The Huskies swept quarterfinal opponent New London-Spicer on Sept. 17. The Wildcats made a similar breakthrough this season after last reaching the state tournament in 2009. Southwest Christian placed third a year ago and recorded four straight sweeps in the Section 2AA tournament to return, including in the final over No. 1 seed Belle Plaine. Annandale qualified for the fifth tournament in a row and is the fifth seed after a fifth-place finish last year. Chatfield swept all four Section 1AA tournament opponents and is the No. 2 seed in its debut state volleyball tournament. The Gophers’ first foe is Rush City, the 2023 runner-up making its third straight appearance. Hawley has won 13 matches in a row since a 2-0 loss to Chatfield on Sept. 21. The winning streak stands at 18 for St. Croix Lutheran since its only defeat to Class AAAA participant Anoka.

Class A

• No. 1 seed Mayer Lutheran has reached three straight Class A state tournament finals and five of the last seven with three titles since 2016. Two All-Tournament picks are back from last year’s runner-up team: Marley Martin and Izabelle Keaveny. Sebeka has improved its win total every full season since 2019. West Central Area finished sixth in its first state tournament a year ago and returns as the No. 4 seed this fall. Kittson County Central won the Section 8A title after coming as close as it could in 2023 and 2021 with five-set defeats to Badger/Greenbush-Middle River. They didn’t meet in the postseason this year, but the Bearcats swept the regular-season match. No. 2 seed Minneota has won three of the last five Class A state championships and the other three champions since 2017 needed a win over the Vikings on their postseason paths. Ely is the seventh seed after finishing sixth in the 2022 state tournament and fifth last season. New Life Academy of Woodbury returns as the No. 3 seed after last year’s third-place result. Fillmore Central was the No. 6 seed in Section 1A and knocked off two higher-seeded opponents on its way to the state tournament, including No. 1 seed Mabel-Canton in a four-set final.

Spectator Guide, Brackets, Online Program, Streaming Information, Tickets and more can be found on the Girls Volleyball Page.