Class AA Showcase Preview

A collection of the top teams in the state will descend upon the Midwest Volleyball Warehouse in Burnsville Friday and Saturday for the Class AA Showcase tournament.

Of the eight teams that played in the state tournament a year ago, five were in Burnsville for the showcase tournament. Seven of the teams from last year’s state tournament will be there this weekend and sx of the teams ranked in the coaches poll will be there too.

Here are a few things to watch:

Can Maple Lake make a statement?

Maple Lake is the consensus top-ranked team in Class AA this season. The Irish are the defending state champions with firepower in spades. They got the final in last year’s showcase before losing to Kenyon-Wanamingo and clearly used that as a launching pad for the rest of their season. They lost two matches the rest of the season and lost just two sets in postseason play.

This year’s showcase tournament might not be quite as stacked as it was a year ago but Maple Lake certainly has an opportunity to put an even tighter stranglehold on that top ranking in the state. And they can show the rest of the contenders what they are up against.

Can someone else make a statement?

I mean it’s a question right? Maple Lake is the consensus No. 1 team in the state but there are five other teams ranked in the coaches poll with a chance to move up or out of the rankings with a good or bad weekend. A handful of unranked teams certainly have an opportunity to make some noise as well.

Can Southwest Christian or Concordia move up into that top-three ranking? There will certainly be opportunity to pick up quality wins. Hill-Murray, Rocori and Kasson-Mantorville could all strengthen positions in the top-10 as well.

Unranked teams looking to make noise

Sure there are a handful of teams with numbers in front of their names in attendance. There a bunch of really good teams that aren’t ranked too. Which team is going to go ‘big game hunting’ and take down a state ranked opponent? A team like Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton or Kenyon-Wanamingo could remind teams that even though they aren’t ranked, they’ve got a chance to get to state and do some damage. Or can a team like MACCRAY, which has enjoyed a solid start to the season, parlay that into a good showing?

Jordan could be a team to watch. The Jaguars aren’t ranked but they beat Southwest Christian earlier in the year and pushed Mayer Lutheran in a loss last week. A good weekend could mean a lot for them.

Braham, Roseau, Cannon Falls, Jackson County Central, Holy Angels and Morris/Chokio Area could all use a good showing as a launching pad for the rest of the season as well.