Independent file photo: Marshall outside hitter Reese Drake attacks the ball against Moorhead on Oct. 5 in Marshall.

MARSHALL — Heading into the 2024 state tournament, the Marshall volleyball team is both in a familiar position and entering uncharted territory. The Tigers are in the state tournament for the seventh consecutive season and are once again the top-seeded team on their side of the bracket. Yet, with only three returners who were consistent contributors to last year’s state title run, the Tigers will be relying on many players who are taking the court at the state level for the first time when they take on Monticello tonight.

Marshall enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed in Class AAA after defeating Willmar in the Section 2AAA championship. 

The Tigers closed the year on a five-match winning streak, bringing their record to 26-6. While there are other programs in the state tournament with better records, Marshall has yet to lose to a Class AAA opponent. Their six losses have all come against Class 4A competition, and all six have also come 2-1 in tournament play rather than a best-of-five match. They’ve fallen to No. 3 Lakeville North, No. 4 East Ridge, No. 5 Eagan, No. 7 Wayzata, No. 8 Prior Lake and No. 10 Chaska.

Monticello also played a tough schedule, opening against Class 4A No. 6 Rogers and No. 1 Delano to fall to 0-2 to start the season. Still, they put together strong efforts from there to finish the season at 18-13. Of their losses, six have come against 4A opponents. Marshall coach Dan Westby said he was surprised Monticello was seeded as the No. 7 team after he had them down as a No. 5 seed.

Monticello swept its way through its section tournament with ease. The Magic defeated Camden 25-12, 25-14, 25-8 in the quarterfinals, Totino-Grace 25-16, 25-19, 25-18 in the semifinals and Zimmerman 25-13, 25-18, 25-19 in the finals. It marks the second consecutive year that the Magic have swept each of their section tournament matches after they were perfect in 2022 and went 3-0, 3-1, 3-0 in 2021.

Like the Tigers, the Magic have also been in this position before after qualifying for the state tournament in each of the last three seasons. Yet, they were defeated in the first round each year, with a 3-1 loss to Grand Rapids in 2021, a 3-2 loss to Benilde-St. Margaret’s in 2022 and a 3-0 loss to Byron in 2023.

Monticello also has a less experienced team than one would expect from a group that’s been so consistently in the state tournament. Still, they have some key returners. Ellie Koprek and Olivia Frie and Alayna Opatz each started all three sets of last year’s loss to Byron, with Brooklyn Sigler also coming in as a reserve. Opatz’s 10 digs were a team-high in the loss, while Sigler contributed a team-leading 10 set assists and Koprek and Frie added three and two kills respectively.

For Marshall, the team’s veterans have been battle-tested. Brooke Gillingham, in her first season with the varsity, was named all-tournament alongside seniors Morgan Bjella and Brielle Riess after tallying 124 set assists over the three state tournament matches. Her 1,128 set assists over the course of the season also puts her fourth all-time in the Minnesota single-season record books.

Avery Fahl returns as a two-time state champ for the Tigers, playing a key role in the last two of Marshall’s three consecutive state titles. Primarily serving as a middle blocker for Marshall’s last two runs, Fahl has showcased some versatility this season by splitting setting duties with Gillingham. The two were also consistently able to set up their third key returner, Reese Drake, for kills.

Drake finished as Marshall’s second-leading hitter in her last state tournament run, with her 34 kills trailing only Riess’ 54. She also had 29 digs on the title run.

Tonight’s match is slated to start at 7 p.m. on Court 2 at the Xcel Energy Center. The winner of today’s matchup will take on the winner of No. 3 Stewartville (26-4) and No. 6 Cretin-Derham Hall (19-12) in the semifinals on Friday at 11 a.m. on Court 1. The state championship game is slated for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.