Vikings fall to Mayer in A' final

Minneota was swept for the first time all season, this time to top-ranked Mayer Lutheran in the Class A state volleyball championship Saturday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Mayer Lutheran (32-2) upended the Vikings 25-15, 25-20, 25-18 in a rematch of the 2017 state title match also won by the Crusaders.

Minneota took state titles in both 2018 and 2019, but the state tournament was not held last season due to the pandemic, meaning the Vikings have won two state crowns and finished second twice in the five years under coach Hayley Fruin.

The Vikings never led in the opening set against the taller Crusaders. Minneota's first lead of the match didn't come until Ireland Stassen pounded down one of her team-high 13 kills to give the Vikings a 4-3 lead in the second set. Minneota led once more in the set at 8-7, but never led again in the middle set.

The Vikings jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the third set on kills by Abby Frie and Stassen. They still led 7-5 following a kill by Natalee Rolbiecki. Mayer Lutheran then rattled off nine straight points for a 14-7 lead it would not relinquish.

The Crusaders' height gave Minneota trouble throughout the match as evidenced by their 13 ace blocks, limiting Rolbiecki to only eight kills after the 5-10 senior had 37 in the first two state matches. Frie finished with five kills after getting 28 in the first two matches. Elivia Faris put down four kills and Emma Bottelberghe two. Frie had all four ace blocks for the Vikings. McKenna Yost had 16 assists and Stassen 13.

Lilly Wachholz, a 6-2 senior, amassed a match-high 18 kills and also had four blocks for the Crusaders. Gabby Wachholz, a 5-9 junior, had 11 kills. Stella Maass added nine kills.

Read more about the state tournament in this week's Mascot.