Photo by Jake McNeill. Minneota's Sarah Gruenes (5) and Elivia Faris (9) put up a block in the Section 3A North semifinals against Renville County West on Oct. 29 in Marshall.

ST. PAUL — Going into the 2024 Class A state tournament for the sixth time in seven seasons, the Minneota Vikings volleyball team will be looking to make a deep run after missing the 2023 tournament, and get back to the state title game with its young roster this week in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center.

Minneota is entering as the No. 2 seed with a 24-10 overall record and coming off a 7-game winning streak, its largest of the season. The Vikings defeated Westbrook-Walnut Grove in the 3A section championship over the weekend.

“I’m excited for the kids, and they’ve earned it,” Minneota head coach Hayley Fruin said. “They’ve worked really hard, so I’m happy that they’re putting it together now.”

Minneota did not make the 2023 state tournament after falling to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in the section semifinals. RTR was eliminated from state contention this season after a loss to WWG in the section semifinals.

However, the Vikings will be competing to avenge the missed opportunity last year in hopes to reclaim their 2022 championship run. Minneota was also the 2021 runners-up before falling to Mayer Lutheran, who is the top-seed in this year’s tournament.

“[We] are trying to just focus on the day to day, instead of making it about the end goal,” Fruin said. “Trying to take it little by little, and hoping that takes some of the pressure off of those kids.”

Fruin has a core four on her roster that were on the 2022 state champion team, and will be looking to them to help pace the team. The two seniors Nevaeh Hennen and Elivia Faris, along with juniors Abigail Rolbiecki and Sarah Gruenes are also the oldest on the squad.

“They’ve been here before. They have experience up here, and they’ve won state before,” Fruin said. “I’m hoping that they can keep the pressure off those younger ones, but also not try to just put it all on themselves. Make sure that it’s a team effort and make sure that everybody just plays with some confidence.”

Minneota will begin play tonight against No. 7 Ely, who is making its third straight state appearance. The Timberwolves enter with a 27-3 overall record and is coming off a 14-game winning streak, all of which have been sweeps but two matches.

“I think we work really well as a team. I’ve heard from other people as well that we just flow as a team. We move, and we’re able to fill the gaps and pick up the seams when we need to,” Ely head coach Megan Wognum said. “I think that really comes down to our girls putting the time in outside of the season. I attribute a lot of that to their passion for the sport.”

Both Ely and Minneota finished the regular season undefeated in conference play.

The Timberwolves fell to Mayer Lutheran the past two seasons in the first round of the state tournament, who went on to become runners-up both times.

“I think that honestly, it just comes down to the first ball. I think that once they get in the rhythm, I think that it’ll be okay,” Wognum said. “[I’m] making sure that they’re reminded that it is a wild atmosphere, but it’s an honor to be here and you just need to make the most of it.”

The opening match between the two will be a battle of young rosters. Much like Minneota, Ely has two seniors, two juniors and seven sophomores.

Clare Thomas and Lille Rechichi are the seniors, and have been on the team the past two state runs.

“It’s just a very young team. So, there are some nerves that go along with it,” Wognum said. “It’s nice to have Clare and Lille to ground the younger kids and just tell them that it is a big deal, but when you’re on the floor, you just need to focus on what you’re here to do.”

For Minneota, Fruin said offense is what the team will need to continue honing in on.

“Passing and serving, and I say that all the time, but it’s so incredibly important. If we can just stay aggressive behind the service line, and then just limit our errors,” Fruin said. “There’s moments where we can go on big runs, but then we also allow the other team to go on big runs, so focusing on that a little bit more and limiting the other team’s runs while trying to kind of capitalize on ours.”

For Ely, it will be the defensive end Wognum will be trying to strengthen.

“I definitely think that we are going to be challenged a little bit defensively. I think that we need to work on staying low and ready more than we think we are,” Wognum said. “Defensive work is definitely something we’re always practicing, and something that we can always get better at.”

Beyond the seniors on each team, there are other players each coach will be looking at to be a leader this week.

“Eden Meagher, she played last year and made it to the section final, so she’s been in plenty of pressured games and situations like that,” Fruin said. “So, looking for her to step it up. She’s a six-rotation player right now, and she’s taking smart shots as well.”

Ely’s Audrey Kallberg is the team’s leader in digs, blocks and second in kills behind Rechichi.

“Our middle hitter, Audrey Kallberg, has been one to pick people up when they’re down and just be able to lead them,” Wognum said. “[Kallberg] shows that it’s okay to have confidence, and it’s okay to believe that you can do it even when you feel like those nerves are taking over.”

The Vikings and Timberwolves met earlier this season on Sept. 20 at the Burnsville Tournament, in which Minneota came away with the 2-0 win in sets of 25-16 and 25-20.

“I’m excited to play Minneota. I’ve watched our game film and watched a few games of theirs, and it’s fun to watch them play. They have a solid block, they’ve got really strong hitters. It’s something that we don’t always see where we live,” Wognum said. “I think that if we come in mentally ready to go, and defensively ready to go, I think that we can handle anything.”

Fruin isn’t looking at September’s win as a solidification of any sort, and is creating a mindset for the team that previous competition doesn’t reflect what they will see this week.

“We’re young and they’re young, and they’ve only gotten better. They’ve beat some really good teams in the state,” Fruin said. “We’re just going back to September and talking about that match, but knowing that we need to play a lot better, because they’re only getting better as well.”

All players on both teams are healthy with no recorded injuries going into tournament play.

Minneota and Ely will take court two at the Xcel Energy Center at 7 p.m. tonight. The winner will go on to face the winner of No. 3 New Life Academy of Woodbury and No. 6 Fillmore Central on Friday at 3 p.m. The loser will drop to the consolation bracket to play Friday at either 1 or 3 p.m.