It was a very good regular season for the Elk River/St. Michael-Albertville boys' volleyball team, which lost just one match during the regular season.
Thursday the season went from very good to fantastic.
The Elks, seeded No. 8 in the tournament, pulled off a pair of sizable upsets in the boys' volleyball state tournament at Shakopee High School en route to their first state championship.
After beating No. 9 seed Minnetonka in the first round, the Elks pulled off the shocker of the tournament, beating No. 1 seed Rogers 25-18, 14-25, 25-20, 25-19 in Wednesday's quarterfinals.
The Elks came back flush with confidence Thursday, and it showed when they beat Shakopee in a back-and-forth semifinal match in which three of the five sets were decided by the slimmest margin possible, two points. Elk River won 25-23, 16-25, 25-12, 27-29, 17-15.
The finals pitted the Elks against No. 2 seed Champlin Park, which had swept Elk River on May 11. Putting that result behind them, the Elks won in four sets, 25-17, 25-23, 14-25, 25-22, and took their first state championship.
Maple Grove beat Shakopee 25-9, 29-27, 20-25, 25-18 for third place.
Rogers bounced back to win the consolation championship, beating Eden Prairie 25-16, 25-21, 17-25, 17-25, 15-13.
