They did it again.
When the Marshall High School volleyball team swept Yellow Medicine East in the Section 3AA championship last week in Redwood Valley, it earned a chance to defend its Class AA State Tournament title.
The tournament begins today at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
This is the second straight season the Tigers have had to go through YME to earn a state tournament berth.
"We really thought our kids came out and played with a lot of focus and a lot of energy against YME," said Marshall head coach Dan Westby. "It felt great to learn from the approach we had a year ago and come and play the way we did."
Marshall enters the state tournament as the No. 2 seed and the Southwest Conference champions with an overall record of 25-6.
Marshall celebrated its win, but quickly started preparing and thinking about its upcoming trip to St. Paul. Westby said the kids were very excited after the game, but that the mood quickly shifted to the state tournament.
"The kids want to go up there and make some noise and have a good showing," Westby said. "They are not just happy to be here. They worked hard and want to extend this thing as long as they can."
Marshall will take on No. 7 seeded Concordia Academy-Roseville (17-3) today at the Xcel Energy Center. Westby said that he and his coaching staff have tried to gather as much information on Concordia Academy as they could.
"We have talked to metro coaches and tried to learn as much as we can about this team," Westby said. "They are a team that has really been on a roll lately. They had a convincing win over a higher seed in their championship game and we anticipate that they are going to come out with a lot of confidence."
Westby and his players are no strangers to the Xcel Center and are very familiar with the road trip to St. Paul in early November. But, will this be the first year the Tigers will earn the right to call themselves back-to-back state champions?
The Tigers are making their eighth trip to the state tournament in as many years. In 2004, and last year in 2007, the Tigers were Class AA State champions. In 2002 and 2005, Marshall finished second in the state tournament.
There are numerous distractions that go along with playing in the state tournament, Westby said. He said there are banquets and award ceremonies that come along with the state tournament and "our girls have experienced that. The girls understand and have been through this. We have a comfort level and we know we are going there to play."
Senior Shay Birath has been through the excitement of the state tournament for the past four years. In the last three years she has experienced a Class AA state title, a Class AAA consolation title and a second-place finish in Class AAA in 2005 as a freshman.
"It is really exciting," Birath said. "Without my teammates there is know way I could have this experience again."
Birath said as a senior this tournament has an entirely different feeling. She said she feels very aware that this could be her final three games of high school volleyball. Birath is confident in the team and said they have played and lived by the same motto all season and that is togetherness.
"Our whole team plays as one," she said. "If one person makes a mistake, someone is always there to pick them up. We made it here as a team. We prepare and come into the state tournament the same every year and that is our biggest advantage, we have been here before."
Almost the same goes for senior Hope Weilage and juniors Rachel Westby, Tina Tauer and Kayla Wallerich who have experience three state tournaments. Westby and Wallerich were named to the 2007 Class AA State Girls Volleyball All-Tournament team.
Westby said the girls are ready to play. He said this isn't just another tournament, "we have goals and we want to make some noise. The girls are never satisfied with just making it to state. They want to play and they want show everyone what this team is about. We have worked hard all season and these girls always want more."