Shakopee defeats Rogers for state boys volleyball crown

For a last official act, Thursday’s boys volleyball state championship match was a fitting finale.

Shakopee, the No.1 seed, needed a full five sets to get past No. 2-seed Rogers 25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 28-30, 15-13 in an epic back-and-forth match Thursday at Shakopee High School.

The match was the last in the short but wildly productive life of the Minnesota Boys High School Volleyball Association, which was organized in 2017 to promote and grow boys volleyball.

In seven years, the MBHSVBA grew to a point of having more than 2,000 players and 80 teams playing boys volleyball. It was approved in 2023 to become an official Minnesota State High School League sport next spring.

Thursday’s result wrapped up the fifth and final successful state tournament in front of more than 1,000 fans and boys’ volleyball supporters.

And they were treated a thrilling, and worthy, epilogue.

The taller Shakopee Sabres, with at least four players standing 6-foot-3 or taller, had been the No. 1 team in the association’s spring league, losing just once all season.

Rogers, an athletic and experienced group, has been among the premier boys volleyball programs in the state. The Royals countered Shakopee’s size and power with athleticism and grit.

Shots that normally resulted in points for Shakopee during the season were routinely kept in play by the Royals.

After Shakopee won the first set handily, Rogers rallied from a second set deficit to even the match at a set apiece with a 25-23 victory.

The next two sets were played in similar fashion: Shakopee concluded the set on a roll to earn the victory, 25-20 but never-say-die Rogers rallied for a 30-28 victory, saving four match points before winning.

“Down by three, four points, it didn’t matter to us,” said Rogers coach Jarrol Torres. “We just keep playing.”

Shakopee was forced to play the final without its starting setter, Dominic Tor, who injured his knee in the final moments of the Sabres semifinal victory over Andover.

Head coach Krista Flemming said the Sabres did a little rearranging and continued to play the type of winning power volleyball that has been their trademark all season.

“There was a lot of adapting today. I just told the guys ‘Give me what you’ve got,’” Flemming said.

The long Sabres were led by 6-5 senior captain Owen Stege, who took over the match at certain stages, and his front line compadres Kale Flemming (6-6), Parker Butterfass (6-4) and 6-5 Nathan Meyer. It was an advantage just too tough for Rogers to overcome.

“We rode the highs and lows like a buoy in the water. We stayed calm and came through in the end,” said Stege, who played most of the season with a torn meniscus in his right knee. “I’m happy we won it this way. It was amazing for the fans. I’m really happy to do this for them and I’m really happy to do this for me.”

Flemming, who along with assistant coach Jenny Kilkelly, were the driving force behind the MBHSVBA, had one more bit of news to share in the celebratory aftermath.

“I have been officially hired as the head coach for Shakopee for next year,” she announced.