Tournament Tidbits
•With Medford and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown both winning Class 1A quarterfinal matches Thursday, they will meet in Friday’s semifinals. The teams are very familiar with each other since they both are members of the Gopher Conference.
They met once in conference play and twice in tournaments this season, with W-E-M winning all three times.
•The Longest Match of the Day In the wildest contest of the tournament's opening day, Fosston went the distance in holding off Mounds Park Academy 22-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9 in the Class 1A quarterfinals.
As Fosston junior Taylor Kroening explained, “It's huge. We’re very excited to be here.” Greyhounds coach Sarah Dryburgh said one way to overcome nerves is to give it everything you’ve got. “It can be a lot of pressure and the nerves can play a factor and we just wanted to play hard,” she said.
As with many teams from smaller towns, the excitement of going to state is a big thing in Fosston. “We've been able to hear from a lot of our community with well wishes and support,” Dryburgh said. “Some of our local businesses painted windows, brought treat bags for the girls.
A lot of our young students have been supporting the girls and cheering them on. Our community is just really excited for these girls and it was a fun week. We really appreciate all that support.” • When the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds meet to decide the state championship, it’s a scenario that shouldn’t surprise anyone.
That will be the situation Saturday at Xcel Energy Center when Eagan and Wayzata square off for the Class 3A volleyball title. Among those who aren’t stunned is Wayzata coach Scott Jackson. “If you had told me on August 11 (the day before practice started) that this was going to be the final, I wouldn’t have been at all surprised,” he said after the Trojans defeated North St. Paul 25-16, 25-22, 27-25 in Friday’s semifinals.
Top-seeded Eagan advanced with a five-set struggle for survival against Minnetonka. Eagan (31-0) and Wayzata (30-3) did not meet during the regular season.