Volleyball State Tournament, 2022: Advance News Release

Thirty-two volleyball programs take center stage this week with hopes that their season’s journeys will end with a championship trophy when the Minnesota State High School League’s state tournament is played Nov. 9-12 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.

Three of those schools are eyeing a repeat of championships won during the 2021 state tournament: Mayer Lutheran (Class A); Marshall (Class AAA) and Wayzata (Class AAAA).

Here is a snapshot of the volleyball tournament that will be played over the next four days:

Class A

• Minneota, the Section 3A champion, is the top seed in the Class A field. The Vikings (31-3) reversed a loss to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton earlier in the season with a 3-2 victory in the Section 3A championship.
• Defending champion Mayer Lutheran is the No. 2 seed. The Crusaders are 26-5 during an aggressive 2022 season.
• Mabel-Canton head coach Lonnie Morken has 791 career victories in 29 seasons.
• Unseeded Ely is 29-0 and has surrendered just six sets all season.

Class AA

• Pequot Lakes (27-4), the Section 6AA champion, is the top seed in the Class AA field. The Patriots are making their third state tournament appearance since 1994.
• Cannon Falls (26-7), the Section 1AA champion, is the No. 2 seed.
• Unseeded Rush City’s lone loss is to Pine River-Backus, which is in the Class A tournament.

Class AAA

• Marshall (30-2), the Section 2AAA champion, is the top seed and favored to successfully defend its title. Winning a championship is nothing new to the Tigers; they’ve won seven of them in volleyball.
• Kasson-Mantorville (24-6), the Section 1AAA champion, is the No. 2 seed.
• DeLaSalle (13-13), the Section 3AAA champion, is making its first-ever state tournament appearance in volleyball.
• Detroit Lakes (21-4), the Section 8AAA champion, is also makings its first state tournament appearance. The Lakers’ last loss was Oct. 20 against Pequot Lakes, the top seed in Class AA.

Class AAAA

• Wayzata, the Section 5AAAA champion, is the top seed and favored to repeat as the big-school champion. To qualify for the state tournament, the Trojans (27-4) had to get past powerful Champlin Park in the Section 5AAAA final in a match that resembled a state tournament-type showdown. It was the third match between the two during the regular season, with each team winning once prior to the section final.
• Lakeville North (27-4), the Section 1AAAA champion and seemingly perennial entrant in the state tournament, is the No. 2 seed. In the section final, the Panthers reversed an earlier loss to Northfield with a 3-1 victory. Hall of Fame coach Walt Weaver is a Lakeville North assistant coach.
• Strength of schedule: East Ridge, the Section 3AAAA champion (23-7) has quality losses this season to Wayzata (twice), Lakeville North (twice) and Champlin Park. East Ridge faces unseeded Stillwater, the Section 4AAA champion (24-6), in the quarterfinals. During the Suburban East Conference season, East Ridge won the battle of neighboring school districts, 3-0.