Postseason Begins this Week: Unranked Top Seeds and Potential Spoilers

The road to the state tournament begins this week. Several teams have high hopes for a successful march through section playoffs and an opportunity to be among Minnesota's elite November 8-10 at the Xcel Energy Center. A handful of teams could work their way through section brackets to play the spoiler among the ranked and top-seeded favorites across all classifications. The following is a list of those potential contenders and some of their stars. Class 1A Medford - Entering the postseason as the Section 1 top seed, the Tigers are 23-5 overall and will face Lyle/Pacelli, a Tuesday night 3-0 winner over Christian Life Academy. Medford's trio of offensive threats includes 2017 all-conference performer Emma Kniefel (OH | 2020) and a pair of middles in Rachael Luebbe (MH | 2019) and Kinsey Cronin (MH | 2021). Their season includes wins over section foes Hayfield, Blooming Prairie, and Bethlehem Academy. New York Mills - At 21-2, the Eagles are the Section 6 North #1 seed. The Park Region Conference champions are led by returning all-conference selections Madalyn Erp (MB | 2019) and Karli Kawlewski (OH | 2020). Their first match is Thursday against NCE/UH, a round-one five-set winner over Frazee. NYM has had some regular season success against section opponents with wins over Henning, Wadena-Deer Creek, West Central Area, and Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley. Class 2A In addition to Jackson County Central and Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta that were previously highlighted in the 2A preview, here a couple more conference champions and top seeds. St. Cloud Cathedral - The Crusaders are 18-2 entering postseason play and bring with them a Granite Ridge Conference title where they finished with an unblemished record at 10-0. They are led by a trio of attackers in 2017 all-conference selections Gabby Heying (OH | 2019) and Hallie Hupf (OH | 2019) as well as Meg Januschka (MH | 2019). As the top seed in Section 6, they open up with the #16 seed Holdingford on Thursday. St. Peter - Coming off a Big South East championship, the Saints are 24-5 and the South #2 seed in Section 2. Their first opponent is Blue Earth at home on Thursday evening. Claire Nuessmeier (MH | 2019) is having another all-conference type of season as she leads the team in both kills and blocks. Paige Hewitt (S | 2020) leads the Saints in assists as Allie McCabe (Lib | 2020) is the digs leader. Section 2 is loaded but a wide open race with 2A #7 ranked Belle Plaine, #8 ranked Kenyon-Wanamingo, and a solid Norwood Young America team. Class 3A Benilde-St. Margaret's - At 19-9 on the season, they enter the postseason as the #2 seed in Section 6. Their leader is Maizy Jackson (OH | 2019), a long and athletic pin attacker that can do everything for the Red Knights. Sarah Luong (S | 2020) is a savvy setter that can defend well at the net at only 5'8. Although Jackson gets a lot of offensive opportunities, the Red Knights also get solid solid contributions from Erin Beacom (MH | 2019) and Alexis Brixius (OH | 2020). With a bye in the first round, they open play on Thursday against the winner of the Hopkins versus Minneapolis Washburn match. St. Michael-Albertville - Back-to-back Mississippi 8 Conference crowns is what the Knights can claim but they are looking for more. The #4 seed in Section 5 and bringing with them a 22-6 overall record, they open up against Rogers (20-7) on Thursday. A win in round one sends them to Champlin Park, a daunting opponent for any squad. However, STMA has some great experience and competitiveness in Syra Tanchin (OH | 2019), a recent 1,000-kill club member. The Knights also look to Mikala Henderson (OH | 2020) and Evie Harrington (MH | 2019) to score points. Willmar - One of the best setters outside of the metro area is Carly Wedel (S | 2019). A South Dakota State commit, she has great size and good mobility as an offensive setter and is a big threat to opposing hitters at the net. Her hitters include a trio of fellow seniors in Caitlyn Ogdahl (OH | 2019), Sydney Olson (MH | 2019), and Grace Marti (OH | 2019). The defensive spark is sophomore Abbey Stark (Lib | 2021), one of the best in the Central Lakes Conference in which the Cardinals went undefeated this season. They open up as the top seed in Section 8 and will play the winner of the opening round match between Alexandria and Bemidji on Friday. Keep an eye on these teams and athletes and don't be surprised if some upsets occur over the next couple of weeks!