Photo by Samantha Davis: The Marshall volleyball team crashes to the court after winning the 2025 Class 3A state championship Saturday night at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. The Tigers defeated Benilde-St. Margaret’s 3-1 for the program's 10th state title. Below: The Marshall volleyball team reacts after winning match point in the final set. Below: Seniors Avery Fahl (back, left), Reese Drake (back, center), Kezlyn Pinckney (back, in white) and Brooke Gillingham (front, center) take a photo after being named to the Class 3A All-Tournament team. Below: Reese Drake and Julia Fahl share a hug. Below: Sisters junior Kezlyn Pinckney (in white) and senior Kyah Pinckney share a hug following Marshall's win. Below: Marshall celebrates after receiving the state trophy. Below: The Marshall volleyball team stands with the Class 3A state championship trophy.

ST. PAUL — Crashing to the court with immediate celebratory tears dropping, the No. 1 Marshall girls volleyball team has officially taken the reins back with winning the 2025 Class 3A state championship Saturday night, bringing home the program’s 10th title. The top-seeded and top-ranked Tigers defeated No. 2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s 3-1 in sets of 25-20, 25-15, 27-29 and 25-17.

Along with its already decorated case of nine other titles, the Tigers’ 10th championship serves as an honorable milestone for numerous reasons. Marshall, who already held the most volleyball titles of any other school in the state, is now the first program in Minnesota to win double-digit championships.

“So much pride. For our school, and we’re representing Marshall. The fact that we get to do this for our school, and have these state championships, it’s so great. I’m just so proud to be raised in a volleyball program like Marshall’s,” Marshall senior setter Brooke Gillingham said. “Coach [Dan] Westby talked to us before the game on how proud he is, and how much pride he takes, and how we were raised in this Marshall volleyball program. Honestly, it’s the best one in the state. Maybe with some bias, but it’s great. It’s great being from Marshall, and it’s so special to bring home that state championship.”

This is also Marshall’s fourth title in five years. The program has qualified for eight consecutive state tournaments, bringing its total to 34.

“This is Marshall’s 10th championship, and in some states, people might say, ‘Really? The leader only had 10?'” Westby said. “But, there’s a tremendous amount of parity in Minnesota volleyball… I think anybody can beat anybody, and I think that’s what makes Minnesota volleyball so special, is the quality of volleyball that we’ve come to know. Again, this group that we’ve had is instrumental in helping develop that.”

Seniors Reese Drake, Avery Fahl and Gillingham, and junior defensive specialist Kezlyn Pinckney were all named to the 2025 Class 3A All-Tournament Team following the win.

Drake, Gillingham and Avery Fahl finished their high school careers with double-double performances. Drake and Avery Fahl shared a game-high 21 kills, along with Drake’s 18 digs and Avery Fahl’s 21 assists. Gillingham led the team with 27 assists and 11 digs. Pinckney had a team-high 24 digs, as did Julia Fahl with a trio of service aces to her nine kills.

BSM was able to take the third set away from Marshall in extra points behind a late rally, but the Tigers’ defensive pressure and offensive power were too much for the Red Knights the rest of the way, including a 10-point win in the second set.

Drake and Avery Fahl accounted for the first 2 points of the match with back-to-back kills.

BSM came out with fire to take a 9-7 lead, but a pair of Red Knights’ attacking errors tied the set up, as Drake served an ace and Avery Fahl hit a kill to give the Tigers the lead.

A Drake kill off the left side put Marshall up 18-15, which Nora Holmgren followed up with a kill of her own. Two straight kills by Drake and a Julia Fahl kill put the Tigers ahead 23-19, to which an Avery Fahl kill and service ace wrapped up the opening set.

Marshall controlled the entirety of the second set with a .333 hitting percentage while holding BSM to a .162 mark, bolstering a 12-3 lead with kills from Drake, Julia and Avery Fahl, Halle DeVos and a string of diving defensive saves.

Both teams put over a few bad serves midway through the set, yet Marshall didn’t fluster as it continued to a 10-point edge, 23-13. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead following Holmgren and Laurel Ryks kills.

The Tigers were battle-tested throughout the third set with a 10-10 tie to start, and had a 24-19 lead before BSM went on a 5-0 run to tie the score up 24-24.

The two traded points between kills to 27-27, and the Red Knights forced a fourth after two straight kills.

“The head scratcher there was, we really liked the rotation we were in. We feel like that’s one of our strongest rotations, and we just couldn’t get that last point,” Westby said. “But again, it was a good play by Benilde. So, tip your hat to them as well.”

Marshall quickly got comfortable on the court again in the fourth, cruising to a 14-6 lead with the help of DeVos and Holmgren’s blocking, a pair of Julia Fahl service aces and one from Gillingham, and more hits from Avery Fahl and Drake. A kill each from Avery and Julia Fahl gave Marshall a 17-7 lead.

The Tigers finished off the game, officially clinching the title, when Ryks hit for a kill and combined with Holmgren from a block, and match point came from an Avery Fahl kill down the middle. The team immediately fell to the court and shared hugs with one another for several minutes after.

The ride to the title

Following Marshall’s semifinal win over No. 5 Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday, Gillingham said the team met over the summer after its state championship loss to Alexandria last season to set the serious tone early, and they collectively decided the word to follow this year was ‘dedicated.’

Dedication is exactly what Marshall played with through all 35 matches to reach the big stage once again.

Marshall finishes its season 33-2 overall, and held a top-ranked status all year in the Class 3A coaches polls. The Tigers also started out the year on a 16-match win streak, 14 of which were won in straight sets.

“We were dedicated no matter what. You have things in your personal life that go on … But, we just decided that’s not our problem when it comes to volleyball. We stepped on the court for practice, and every single day, it was a war in practice,” Gillingham said. “Going into practice dedicated. During practice, dedicated to every drill. Our coaches push us every practice, and dedicated to every game, no matter the opponent on the other side of the net.”

The team proved early the lengths it could go this season at the Southwest Challenge tournament Marshall hosts annually in the beginning of September, where the Tigers won the tournament’s championship for the first time in 16 years after defeating four Class 4A teams, three of which were all ranked top-10 in the state over Prior Lake, Lakeville South and Chanhassen, along with wins against 4A’s Andover and Class 3A Fergus Falls.

Prior Lake and Lakeville South were playing on the opposing court of Marshall at the same time for the Class 4A championship.

“I really enjoy practice. I don’t know how much they do, but I really enjoy practice. One of the things that was fun to watch this year, is every practice was a war,” Westby said. “One side of the net was completely battling the other side of the net, and vice versa… I just think steel sharpens steel, and that’s how you get better, and these guys have done a great job of that.”

Through Marshall’s state tournament run, Drake recorded a double-double in all three matches between kills and digs, as did Avery Fahl, including a semifinal triple-double in kills, assists and digs.

Kezlyn and Kyah Pinckney also made significant contributions on the defensive end throughout the tournament and season, while Julia Fahl and Holmgren developed over the year and into the tournament on the offensive side to help pace the Tigers.

Gillingham also continued to find the open looks for her hitters, logging over 20 assists in all three matches. Her and Fahl split setting duties throughout the season.

“After we won our section championship, I think the next day, we had a conversation in the gym that at some point in the next three matches [at state], we’re going to be behind, and how are we going to handle that? Because we haven’t been behind a whole lot this year … How are we going to respond?” Westby said. “I think ever since we took that loss to Alexandria, our kids have just had a tremendous amount of resolve, and said nothing’s going to get in our way this year.”

In familiar territory, the Tigers also met BSM in the girls basketball state championship game last season, as they did the same with Cretin-Derham Hall in the basketball semifinals and the volleyball semifinals on Friday.

Westby joked post-match alongside Drake and Avery Fahl, who play on the basketball team, that he would give them a few days’ rest before practice starts, with an upcoming weekend scrimmage already planned.

Winning under Westby

All 10 championships have been brought back to southwest Minnesota under Westby’s leadership, who took over the program as head coach in 2004, when Marshall won its first title.

From there, the Tigers have made it a program standard to reach the tournament, specifically with maintaining realistic goals of getting to the last day of the volleyball season in the state.

“Minnesota started playing girls volleyball in 1974, and Marshall’s first coach was a guy by the name of Dave Ahmann. Hall of Fame coach, and Dave is a good friend of mine. I learned so much from Dave, and he really started the tradition in 1974 … He deserves all the credit in the world,” Westby said. “The thing that Dave did was he just outworked everybody. That’s 51 years ago, but that has not stopped… We just tried to continue his legacy over the years.”

Along with its 10 titles under Westby, Marshall has finished as state runners-up another eight times, most recently last season after the Tigers won the prior three straight.

“I think it’s really been passed down from the seniors before us … Year to year, that legacy gets passed down. I think that we learned a lot of leadership and fight during [games] from those seniors,” Gillingham said, adding that she would attend state tournaments as a kid, which ignited an early passion for the game. “Going to those games as a kid is just like, ‘Wow. I get to be a part of something really special.'”

Westby has also been the Marshall girls basketball coach since 2009, with another eight state tournament appearances and four runners-up finishes under his belt.

A perfect senior finale

Capping off their high school careers with a perfect ending, Saturday was the final day Marshall’s group of eight seniors played in a Tigers’ uniform, who have upheld the program’s winning culture and continued to add to the dynasty with several conference and section championships, and most notably, more state titles.

“It’s pretty bittersweet, knowing it’s your last game,” Drake said. “But, [we’re] thankful that we got an opportunity to play the game we did, and came out with the outcome that we wanted.”

Marshall’s senior class includes Avery Fahl, Drake, Gillingham, Kyah Pinckney, Makia Radtke, DeVos, Bryn Webb and Trinity Brownlee.

Last year, Drake, Avery Fahl and Gillingham were selected to the Class 3A All-Tournament Team at state as juniors, and were all named to this year’s Class 3A All-State Teams by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association. Avery Fahl and Drake were on the 2024 All-State teams as well.

“I just can’t say enough good things about [the seniors],” Westby said. “Our kids have been just magnificent all year long, so I couldn’t be happier for them. Like I said, we’ve got eight seniors, and they’re going to be sorely missed … If you have to go out, that’s the way to go out. I’m really happy for them.”