Sectional News and Notes from Thursday 10/25

<p>Section action is well underway and some early exciting action and results are setting the tone for the days to come. Thursday night's results include some upsets and some teams to keep your eyes on going forward.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>6AAA Frenzy</em></span><br /> Some of the most surprising results of the night happened in the 6AAA section. First, #7 seed Hopkins took down #2 seed Benilde-St. Margaret's to advance to the semifinals. The Royals are just 11-15 on the season but have consecutive 3-0 wins to open up section play. In the first round they defeated Minneapolis Washburn 25-10, 25-20, 25-17 before coming up big in a win over a very good BSM squad. Thursday's set scores were 25-17, 29-27, 25-14. Next up for Hopkins is Robbinsdale-Armstrong, also victorious as a lower seed. The #6 seed Falcons won their opening match over Bloomington Kennedy 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-16) before taking on Minneapolis Southwest and earning the second upset on the night with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 31-29, 25-20) win. The Falcons improve to 15-10 on the season and are led by <strong>Sofie Vogel (MH | 2020)</strong> and <strong>Audrey Schumacher (OH | 2019)</strong>. The other semifinal pits #1 seed Edina, a 3-0 winner over Burnsville, versus #5 seed St. Louis Park who defeated Bloomington Jefferson 3-1. Edina defeated St. Louis Park 3-0 earlier in the season and also has two wins over Hopkins 3-0 and 3-2. Robbinsdale-Armstrong may have an advantage being the lone team left in Section 6AAA that has not previously played against the other teams still alive. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Rogers' Youth Prevails</em></span><br /> Also in 3A, this from Section 5, #5 seed Rogers (21-7) came from behind to take down #4 seed St. Michael-Albertville 3-2. Set scores were 17-25, 27-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-8. Rogers avenged two earlier losses to the Knights, the first match taking place in early September and ending with 15-13 score in the fifth set. On Thursday it was the freshman, <strong>Kendal Kemp (MH | 2022)</strong>, that led the effort for the Royals with 17 kills. At 6'6, she hit .419 for the match and added 11 blocks (seven solos). Teammate <strong>Ally Johnson (OH | 2021)</strong> had a big night as well with 13 kills to go along with seven digs, six aces, and three blocks. Rogers next takes on top-seeded and #3 ranked Champlin Park on Tuesday.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>2A Action</em></span><br /> We are one match away from another #1 vs. #2 showdown as 2A top-ranked Kasson-Mantorville takes on #7 seed Byron, while #2 ranked Stewartville will play against #6 seed Zumbrota-Mazeppa at the Mayo Civic Center on Saturday. The Section 1AA #2 seed KoMets and #3 seed Tigers both earned first-round 3-0 sweeps to advance to the quarterfinals. Still alive on the other half of the bracket is #1 seed Lake City, #4 seed St. Charles, #5 seed Winona-Carter, and #8 seed Red Wing. Barring a major upset, the best match of the 2A tournament may just be next Thursday.</p> <p>At 10-16 and the #10 seed in Section 2AA, Jordan upset #7 seed Southwest Christian 3-1. After both teams handily won a set to tie it up 1-1, it was a battle the rest of the way as Jordan prevailed 26-24, 25-23 over the final two frames. The Jaguars have been playing well of late, entering into the playoffs having won four of their last five matches. Their last match of the month of September was against this same Southwest Christian team resulting in a loss for Jordan in four sets. Five of their final nine regular season matches were victories with two very competitive losses coming at the hands of highly regarded Norwood Young America (3-1) and 2A #7 ranked Belle Plaine 3-2, dropping the final set 16-18. They also lost to Belle Plaine 3-0 very early in the season. Next up for the Jaguars? You guessed it, Belle Plaine, Section 2AA's #2 seed. Perhaps the third time will be the charm for Jordan's <strong>Katarina Erdal (OH | 2019)</strong> and <strong>Carsyn Miszak (OH | 2019)</strong>, as the senior outside hitter tandem has been leading the Jaguars all season, all while under the leadership of a new head coach as well. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Earns Big Win</em></span><br /> With a 3-1 result on Thursday #12 seeded GFW (14-15) defeated #5 seed Minnesota Valley Lutheran (20-4) to advance to the Section 2A quarterfinals on Tuesday where they will face #4 seed and 3rd ranked Mayer Lutheran. The Thunderbirds' only hiccup Thursday was a 21-25 set one loss before reeling off three straight (25-23, 25-22, 25-17) to win the match and avenge an earlier mid-season loss to the Chargers. <strong>Miah Busse (OH | 2019)</strong>, <strong>Shelby Ramirez (MB | 2020)</strong>, and <strong>Hannah Panitzke (OH | 2020)</strong> lead GFW.</p>