Central Minnesota Well Represented in Girls’ Volleyball State Tournament

(KNSI) – Three St. Cloud-area high schools will chase a girls’ volleyball championship this week at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

The first team up is perhaps the biggest surprise. Sartell had to upset (2) St. Michael-Albertville on the road in the Section 8AAAA semifinal and then take down Central Lakes Conference foe Alexandria in the championship to advance. It is the Sabres’ first state tournament appearance since 1977.

Their reward is the eight seed in Class AAAA and one of the best squads in all of Minnesota. Sartell faces Lakeville South at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. South bested Lakeville North in the 1AAAA championship over the weekend.

In Class AAA, Sauk Rapids-Rice has secured the four seed. The Storm draws Cretin-Derham Hall on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. If they win, they would likely be facing powerhouse Marshall in the state semis on Friday morning. Sauk Rapids last played in the state tournament in 2021.

The local team with the highest seed is Albany. The Huskies are the two seed in Class AA. They don’t play until Thursday when they get Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in the quarterfinals. Albany got to the state semifinals last year and is looking to improve on that finish, despite having lost a ton of production from that squad to graduation.

A special shout out to western Stearns County powerhouse Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa. The Jaguars are the four seed in Class A.

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