2024 Volleyball State Tournament: Class AA Championship Recap

There is an old saying when a tournament bracket is seeded that cautions about No. 3. The third seeds are often the most dangerous in the field. That adage played out when Hawley made program history following its 25-22, 20-25, 26-24, 25-22 victory over No. 4 Southwest Christian in the Class AA championship match of the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Volleyball State Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. 

Sophomore outside hitter Katarina Vetter had 16 kills and 20 digs to power the Nuggets (29-5) to their first crown in two state tournament trips. Junior setter Sella Fleming had 22 assists and senior setter Ingrid Rustad added 21 during a tight, dramatic match where each point was precious. 

Sophomore outside hitter Avery Beckering and junior outside hitter Claire Lemkuil had 18 kills each for the Stars (21-13). 

Hawley opened its historic state tournament trip with a victory over No. 6 St. Croix Lutheran in the quarterfinals. The Nuggets then upended No. 2 Chatfield in Friday’s semifinals. Southwest Christian was seeking its first Class A championship since 2013. The Stars were playing like it, too.

After opening with a victory over No. 5 Annandale in the quarterfinals, the Stars posted an upset win over top-seeded Albany in the semifinals. 

Third place 

Albany, the top seed in the Class AA field to start the tournament, rebounded from a semifinal loss to Southwest Christian by racing past Chatfield for a 25-14, 25-22, 25-20 victory for the third-place trophy. Senior outside hitter Hannah Klein powered the Huskies (30-3) with 20 kills and senior setter Ellery Ehresmann had 34 assists. Senior outside hitter Jaelyn LaPlante paced Chatfield (30-5) with 14 kills. 

Consolation 

St. Croix Lutheran went to great lengths, especially in the clinching set, to record a 25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 33-31 victory over Annandale to win the consolation final. In a match that lasted 1 hour, 48 minutes, the Crusaders (27-2) outlasted the Cardinals (24-8) in the fourth set when an astonishing 64 combined points were scored. Senior outside hitter Anna Spott and junior hitter Callie Oakland each had 14 kills.