New Prague, Wayzata and Anoka advance from Class 4A high school volleyball quarterfinals

Before this season, New Prague was a Class 3A volleyball program.

The Trojans had experienced some success at that level, qualifying for the state tournament in 2021. But this year, their first in Class 4A, they've taken things to another level.

The Trojans pulled away from Minnetonka in the third and fourth sets Wednesday to advance to the Class 4A quarterfinals with a 25-19, 23-25, 25-14, 25-13 victory over the Skippers at Xcel Energy Center.

Setter Annalise Wilson had 41 assists for the Trojans, who had three hitters in double figures in kills, benefiting from Wilson's distributions. Avery Klein had 22 kills, Emerson Dillon 14 and Kyra Klein 12. New Prague had a gaudy .297 attack percentage.

"It really starts with our passing," coach Greg Sayuk said. "We have fantastic passers, and they get the offense going."

New Prague (26-4) proved its worthiness by beating Lakeville North in three sets in the Section 1 final. But there was some residual desire to re-establish it.

"Switching from 3A to 4A is a huge step," Wilson said. "I think we did come in here to prove we should be here."

Going into Wednesday's Class 4A quarterfinals, there was a feeling among the Anoka volleyball players that they had something to prove.

The Tornadoes, making their first state tournament appearance since 2012, knew they deserved to be in the state tournament. After all, they had cruised through the regular season, building an impressive 25-3 record.

But not having the kind of strong, lengthy volleyball history of some of the other entrants in the Class 4A field, they felt they needed to show the rest of the volleyball community that they belonged.

Anoka, the No. 5 seed in Class 4A, did that in a big way, surviving a back-and-forth struggle with No. 4 seed Eagan — a Minnesota high school volleyball blueblood — to win a five-set marathon 29-27, 28-26, 26-28, 26-28, 15-4.

"Every time we've gone into where we view the opponents as really good, [we have] gone with a chip on our shoulder, like we're going to show them," Anoka coach Chris Fenwick said.

"I think our team thrives on being underdogs," said sophomore outside hitter Hayden Reeder, whose 24 kills ranked second on the team, behind teammate Logan Brent's 28. "You don't really expect Anoka volleyball to be here. But we have confidence, and for me, being underdogs is the place to be."

It certainly wasn't easy. Anoka began every set by building a lead, only to watch Eagan rally. After four tense sets that went past regulation, Eagan simply ran out of gas in the deciding fifth set.

"Fighting from behind is exhausting," Eagan coach McKenna Melville said. "We had to continue to fight. That made it harder on ourselves."

Senior middle blocker Abby Leaf thought Anoka's victory sent a strong message.

"It says that we're relentless," Leaf said. "We kept going and going against a team that was seeded higher than us. We're going to keep pushing, no matter what the tournament throws at us."

Anoka will play No. 1 seed Wayzata in Thursday's semifinals.

The Trojans, winners of three consecutive state championships, improved to 32-0 with a three-set, 25-17, 25-17, 25-16 victory over Lake Conference rival Edina.

Wayzata admittedly didn't play its best, but the Trojans' margin of error is significant.

They used the match — their second victory this season over Edina — to hone their game. Wayzata has lost just three sets all season.

"We just wanted to work on being consistent and work on taking care of every ball and every point," said junior middle hitter Reilly Kurth. "If we don't have the best game we've ever played, we're focused on the next one."

The Edina players called it a thrill to play a team as talented as the Trojans. "It's super fun to play them just because of their skill level," setter Greta Granberg said.

Olivia Swenson led Wayzata with 13 kills, and her twin sister, Stella, who was named Ms. Baden Volleyball on Tuesday night, added 32 set assists.