2010 State Volleyball Tournament Preview

Nov 10

Northland Sports Online

On Thursday the Esko Eskomos will compete in the 2010 Minnesota Class AA State Volleyball tournament. Despite having the second best record in AA and one of only three teams in the entire tournament with one loss on their record, the Eskomos did not receive one of the top four seeds. Esko will take on #4 seed Stewartville at 5:00pm at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. This is the second state tournament appearance for the Eskomos, who previously made the trip down south in 2004.

It is the third year of seeding for the tournament. Coaches of the qualified teams seeded all of the other teams online and then opponents were randomly selected for the top four seeds.

Marshall is the only team returning to defend its title at the 2010 State Girls Volleyball Tournament. If the Tigers win it would be their second consecutive and fourth overall Class AA championship.

Three teams return from the 2009 Class AAA field: Centennial of Circle Pines, Wayzata, and Andover. All of the Class AAA teams have previous tournament experience. In addition to Marshall, Delano and Wadena-Deer Creek also return from last year’s Class AA field. Hutchinson is the only program making its debut appearance in Class AA. In Class A, Minneota is the only team returning from last year’s field and Cherry of Iron is the only school making its first appearance.

Class A Quarterfinal Highlights:

None of the Class A qualifiers have perfect records, and Cherry of Iron is the only team making its debut appearance.

No. 1 Seed-Section 3-Minneota (30-2) vs. Section 8-Win-E-Mac, Erskine (31-2): Minneota returns for its second consecutive and seventh overall appearance. The Vikings earned runner-up honors last year and they won one previous title in 2006. Minneota was the top seed and the No. 1 team in the final coaches association poll. During the regular season the Vikings defeated Wabasha-Kellogg. The unseeded Patriots of Win-E-Mac return for their 10th appearance, but first since 1999. This year’s squad was tied for No. 9 in the final coaches association poll and is in the hunt for its second title. The Patriots won their first championship in 1988. During regular-season play this year Win-E-Mac defeated Ada-Borup and lost to Mayer Lutheran.

No. 4 Seed-Section 2-Martin County West, Sherburn (28-2) vs. Section 6-Ada-Borup (25-6): The Mavericks of Martin County West return to tournament action after a one-year absence to make their third appearance. They come in as the No. 4 seed and they were also No. 4 in the final coaches association poll. Martin County West did not face any other qualifiers this year. The unseeded Cougars of Ada-Borup also return to the tournament after a one-year hiatus. This is their fifth appearance and they were not ranked in the final coaches association poll. The Cougars lost to Win-E-Mac during the regular season. Neither team has won a state title.

No. 2 Seed-Section 1-Wabasha-Kellogg (30-1) vs. Section 7-Cherry, Iron (22-2): The No. 2-seeded and No. 3-ranked Wabasha-Kellogg Falcons are returning to the tournament after a five-year absence. This is their third appearance and they have never won a championship. Wabasha-Kellogg’s only loss of the season came to Minneota, and the Falcons did not face any other qualifiers. Cherry is making its first appearance and was not ranked in the final coaches association poll. The unseeded Tigers did not face any other qualifiers during the regular season.

No. 3 Seed-Section 5-Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (27-2) vs. Section 4-Mayer Lutheran (21-11): The No. 3-seeded Jaguars of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa are returning to tournament action after a one-year absence to make their fourth appearance. They were ranked No. 7 in the final coaches association poll and are still looking for their first title. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa did not face any other tournament qualifiers this year. Unseeded Mayer Lutheran, which was ranked No. 5 in the final coaches association poll, is making its ninth appearance. The Crusaders made their last appearance in 2007 and won one previous title in 1982. During the regular season Mayer Lutheran defeated Win-E-Mac.

Class AA Quarterfinal Highlights

Wadena-Deer Creek boasts the only perfect record in Class AA, and Hutchinson is the only team making its debut appearance.

No. 1 Seed-Section 2-Hutchinson (25-3) vs. Section 4-Visitation, Mendota Heights (25-5): The Hutchinson Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 1-seeded and No. 3-ranked team in the final coaches association poll. This is their first tournament appearance. Hutchinson defeated Delano during the regular season. The Visitation Blazers, who were No. 10 in the final coaches association poll, return after a two-year absence to make their second appearance. They were not seeded in the tournament and are still in the hunt for their first championship. During regular-season play the Blazers defeated Marshall.

No. 4 Seed-Section 1-Stewartville (25-5) vs. Section 7-Esko (28-1): The perennial qualifiers from Stewartville return after a one-year absence. This is their 20th appearance and they come in as the No. 4 seed. They were ranked No. 8 in the final coaches association poll and are looking for their fourth title. They won previously in 1991, 1997, and 2000. The unseeded and unranked Esko Eskomos are making their second appearance, but their first since 2004. They have never won a state championship. Neither team faced any other tournament qualifiers during the regular season.

No. 2 Seed-Section 8-Wadena-Deer Creek (30-0) vs. Section 5-Delano (22-8): The Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines, who are the No. 2 seed, return for their third consecutive and fifth overall appearance. They took consolation honors in 2009 and were the No. 2 team in this year’s final coaches association poll. During the regular season the Wolverines defeated Sauk Centre. The Delano Tigers, who were not seeded in this year’s tournament, return for their fourth consecutive and sixth overall appearance. They are looking to improve on last year’s runner-up showing and were ranked No. 9 in the final coaches association poll. They lost to Hutchinson during the regular season. Both teams are still looking for their first championship.

No. 3 Seed-Section 3-Marshall (22-9) vs. Section 6-Sauk Centre (27-5): The Marshall Tigers, who won the Class AA title last year, enter the tournament as the No. 3-seeded and No. 7-ranked team in the final coaches association poll. They are making their 10th consecutive and 22nd overall appearance. In addition to last year, the Tigers also earned titles in 2004 and 2007. Marshall lost to Visitation during regular-season play this year. The unseeded and unranked Sauk Centre Mainstreeters are making their fifth tournament appearance, but first since 2001. They lost to Wadena-Deer Creek during the regular season.

Class AAA Quarterfinal Highlights

There are no perfect records in Class AAA, and all of the teams have previous tournament experience.

No. 1 Seed-Section 3-Lakeville North (28-1) vs. Section 4-East Ridge, Woodbury (20-7): The top-seeded and top-ranked Cougars of Lakeville North are making their fourth overall tournament appearance. Their last was in 2007. During regular-season play Lakeville North faced Wayzata three times, winning twice and losing once. The unseeded Raptors of East Ridge are making their debut appearance. They were not ranked in the final coaches association poll and they did not face any other tournament qualifiers this year. Neither team has won a state title.

No. 4 Seed-Section 5-Centennial, Circle Pines (29-2) vs. Section 1-Rochester Mayo (24-5): Centennial, which tied for No. 7 in the final coaches association poll, is making its second consecutive and overall appearance. The fourth-seeded Cougars lost in the consolation semifinals of the 2009 tournament. This year Centennial defeated Andover during the regular season. The unseeded Spartans of Rochester Mayo return to the tournament after a one-year absence. This is their third appearance. Rochester Mayo was not ranked in the final coaches association poll and did not face any other qualifiers during the regular season. Both teams are looking for their first championships.

No. 2 Seed-Section 6-Wayzata (28-2) vs. Section 7-Andover (17-12): These two teams met during the regular season with Wayzata earning the win. The Wayzata Trojans, who are the No. 2 seed, return for their third consecutive and sixth overall appearance. They earned runner-up honors last year and were the No. 2 team in this year’s final coaches association poll. In addition to Andover, the Trojans also faced Lakeville North three times this year. They lost the first two matches and won the third. The unseeded Huskies of Andover are hoping to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish. They are making their fourth consecutive and sixth overall appearance and were not ranked in this year’s final coaches association poll. Wayzata was the only qualifying team they faced this year. Both the Trojans and Huskies are in the hunt for their first titles.

No. 3 Seed-Section 2-Waconia (24-6) vs. Section 8-Moorhead (18-11): The Waconia Wildcats return for their third appearance, but first since 1990. They enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and they’re hoping to win their first championship. The Wildcats knocked off 2009 champion Shakopee in the section semifinals. The Spuds of Moorhead, who were not seeded this year, return to make their first appearance since 2006. This is their 19th appearance. If they win it would be their second title; they won previously in 1988. Neither team was ranked in the final coaches association poll and neither faced any other qualifiers during the regular season.

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