Once again, southwest Minnesota was saturated with talented young volleyball players. Our 12 area schools produced two state champions in Marshall and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and another pair of conference champions in Minneota and Wabasso. They also produced eight All-State selections, making this year’s All-Area team particularly difficult to select.

Marshall, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and Minneota each made up a third of the first-team selections. For the Tigers, Brielle Riess and Morgan Bjella were both All-State selections in Class 3A. The pair of senior hitters helped to lead Marshall to its third consecutive state championship and were both selected to the All-Tournament team. 

Setter Brooke Gillingham and libero Kennedy Drake each earned second-team honors, with the former of the two also being selected to the All-Tournament team and leading the area in set assists, while Reese Drake earned a third-team nod. 

Setter Gabi Borresen and outside hitter Abby Carr were both selected to the first team for the state champion Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights. The All-State duo helped the Knights unseat the six-time reigning section champion Minneota Vikings in the section finals and kept the momentum rolling for a state championship in the Knights’ first state tournament appearance.

Carr was the area leader in kills this season and was awarded an All-Tournament selection at the state tournament, alongside All-Area second-teamers Ally Nelson and Avery Schreurs. Borresen also had a strong case that she should have been on the team as well with 108 set assists without an error, 39 digs, nine kills and four blocks in the Knights’ three state tournament matches. Tatum Hess, an outside hitter and libero hybrid, also earned a third-team All-Area selection.

While the Minneota Vikings weren’t able to defend their state title, they still put together a dominant season, going 30-4 with three of their four losses coming against Class 3A or 4A competition. They had defeated RTR twice this season before falling to the Knights in their only Class A loss of the season.

Leading the way for the Vikings were first-team selections libero Lyzah Sussner and outside hitter Elivia Faris. Both Sussner and Faris were named to the Class A All-State team, with Sussner also being named the Camden Conference MVP. Sussner’s 556 digs were an area-high. 

The Vikings also had a pair of third-team All-Area selections in Ella Johnson and Nevaeh Hennen and an honorable mention in middle blocker Kenadi Arndt. 

Johnson and Canby sophomore and second-team selection Karlie Wollum were both selected to the Class A All-State team this season.

The Independent will announce its Player of the Year and its Coach of the Year in Saturday’s paper. 

BY THE NUMBERS

FIRST TEAM

Morgan Bjella, Marshall, Sr. — 307 kills, 26 blocks

Gabi Borresen, RTR, Sr. –1,026 set assists, 306 digs, 35 blocks, 75 kills, 17 aces

Abby Carr, RTR, Sr. — 491 kills, 353 digs, 45 blocks, 29 aces

Elivia Faris, Minneota, Jr. — 365 kills, 38 blocks

Brielle Riess, Marshall, Sr. — 468 kills, 228 digs, 33 blocks

Lyzah Sussner, Minneota, Sr. — 556 digs, 17 aces

SECOND TEAM

Kennedy Drake, Marshall, Sr. — 475 digs, 31 aces

Brooke Gillingham, Marshall, So. — 1,128 set assists, 218 digs, 30 aces, 39 kills

Ally Nelson, RTR, Sr. — 308 kills, 85 blocks

Avery Schreurs, RTR, Jr. — 503 digs, 44 aces

Natalie Wahl, WWG, Jr. — 354 kills, 301 digs, 32 aces, 29 blocks

Karlie Wollum, Canby, So. — 290 kills, 239 digs, 32 aces, 29 blocks

THIRD TEAM

Reese Drake, Marshall, So. — 298 kills, 269 digs, 34 aces

Nevaeh Hennen, Minneota, Jr. — 731 set assists, 219 digs, 20 aces

Addeson Jenniges, WWG, Sr. — 794 set assists, 245 digs, 41 aces, 17 blocks

Ella Johnson, Minneota, Sr. — 262 kills, 32 blocks, 28 aces

Tatum Hess, RTR, Sr. — 349 digs, 133 kills, 46 aces

Emily Nelson, Canby, So. — 566 set assists, 210 kills, 225 digs, 32 aces, 12 blocks

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kenadi Arndt, Minneota, Sr.; Avery Carlson, Wabasso, Sr.; Ella Cherveny, YME, So; Hailey Gernentz, TMB, Sr.; Ayiana Hastad, Dawson-Boyd, Sr.; Olivia Hinz, Lakeview, Sr.; Abby Loosbrock, MCC, Sr.; Maia Scheffler, RRC, Jr.; Aliyah Rangaard, Canby, Jr.; Carlie Ross, WWG, Sr.