Even in a loss at the Class 4A volleyball state tournament, Burnsville gains

The Burnsville volleyball team was well aware of the task it faced in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state tournament Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.

The Blaze, their program revitalized under fourth-year coach Josh Wastvedt, were making their first state tournament appearance since 2009. Their opponent? Two-time defending state champion Wayzata, the top seed.

The taller, more experienced Trojans did as expected, defeating Burnsville in straight sets, 25-20, 25-20, 25-18, and advancing to Thursday's semifinal against Rogers.

"It was a challenge, but we took it as a fun challenge," Wastvedt said.

The result wasn't the defining aspect of the match for the upstart Blaze (19-12). It was about building a program.

"This has been really special, especially since it's been my senior year," setter/outside hitter Kiylah Franke said. "I wanted to finish with a bang."

Burnsville surprised Wayzata (28-4) early, taking a 10-5 lead in the first set before the Trojans settled in.

Rogers 3, Chaska 1: After a slow start, the Royals won three straight sets to defeat the Hawks 14-25, 25-19, 26-24, 26-24.

Royals coach Bo Schmidt said it took his team a while to play its style.

"That first set was not very good," he said. "There are going to be games where nerves get the best of you, but we said we can fix that moving forward. And during the rest of the match, we did."

Rogers (30-4) had just two regulars back from its 2021 tournament team. Senior Hannah Bruskiewicz said a season of unity helped the team.

"We know the name of every single player in this program, down to ninth grade. We're really a family," she said.

Longtime coach Sue Murphy said the Hawks got away from their style of play after the first set, hurting themselves with mistakes.

"We played errorless ball in the first set, but you just can't make 17 errors and hope to win," she said. "We've always said that Chaska will beat Chaska, and that's what happened."

Lakeville North 3, Centennial 1: Behind an offense that pressures opponents with its lickety-split style, the second-seeded Panthers defeated the Cougars 25-19, 23-25, 25-12, 25-20.

The Panthers (28-4) took advantage of their offensive depth and the myriad skills of setter Ava Blascziek to keep everyone in sync. Three players had double-digit kills — Emily Ramsay had 18 and Rayna Christianson and Sydney Carlson 11 each — as Lakeville North posted an attack percentage of .221.

Blascziek was the mad scientist, concocting attacks and routinely sending sets where Centennial (25-5) wasn't.

Richter credited Lakeville North's tough schedule, particularly in the postseason, for its success Wednesday.

"The strength of our schedule the entire season and especially our section, which has grown in strength, it develops that armor and grit and resiliency for the team that comes out of it," she said.

East Ridge 3, Stillwater 1: Illness hit the Ponies hard leading up to the state tournament, and it showed against the third-seeded Raptors. East Ridge got 17 kills from Hadley Burger and 15 from Mikayla McDougall to beat Stillwater 19-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-20.

About a half-dozen Stillwater players were ill Wednesday for the match against East Ridge (24-7). "And four of them were starters," said coach Sara Baumgard, whose team fell to 24-7.

Starting setter Adison Benpard told Baumgard on Monday that she wouldn't be able to handle her usual responsibilities.