Remembering 2018, Looking Into 2019: Southwest Minnesota Challenge

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Southwest Minnesota Challenge held in Marshall, Minnesota typically the weekend after Labor Day provides the state of Minnesota (along with South Dakota and North Dakota) some of the top competition in the state heading to Marshall High School and the campus of Southwest Minnesota State to stake their claim and set the tone for the rest of the season. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Looking back at this tournament, there were powerhouse programs, three of which either won a state title or appeared in the state championship game with Champlin Park winning the Class AAA tournament and Minneota Class A. The host, Marshall, would go on to be the Class AA runner-up. </span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Not a bold statement when I can say I'm about to watch two of the best prep volleyball teams in the nation <a href="https://x.com/cprebelsvball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cprebelsvball</a> <a href="https://x.com/LNHSVolleyball1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LNHSVolleyball1</a> <a href="https://t.co/pYDosvzHpD">pic.x.com/pYDosvzHpD</a></p> — Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1038523104715255813?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2018</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This not only was a prelude to what was to come in the state tournament in St. Paul come November, but was also a statement to be made by impact Freshmen. <strong>Julia Hansen</strong> of Prior Lake showed how she can high fly with fans already taking note of one of the top 2022 athletes scoring points from the outside.  With the club season Hansen has been having at Northern Lights this offseason, she will be a strong six rotation outside hitter who will be handling a bulk of the swings and will be sure to score a ton of points. Kasson-Mantorville had <strong>Peyton Suess</strong> and <strong>Bailey Berge</strong> leading this way, but Freshman <strong>Maddie Converse</strong> was able to step in and become the go to for this team.  With a variety of hitters who can score points, Converse stepped in and just put the ball in place for attackers to work their magic. For Minneota, it was<strong> Natalee Rolbiecki,</strong> the incredibly athletic outside hitter who looked like a seasoned veteran. The Freshman was cool under pressure, efficient, and was just one of the many parts that made the machine run so smoothly for Minneota. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This was also the start of the battles between Lakeville North, [program_tooltip program_id='430430' first='Lakeville' last='South'], and Champlin Park.  North and Champlin Park were on a crash course to the finals where Champlin Park would sweep the Panthers in the finals 2-0 behind<strong> Izzy Ashburn</strong>, the cool, calm, and collected Senior leader distributing to <strong>Emma Schmidt, Jordan Stalpes, and Lauren Clark</strong> on the pin.  The Rebels also had two big impact middles in <strong>Hannah Prasky</strong> and <strong>Sami Hilley</strong> asserting themselves as forces to be reckon with. <strong>Elizabeth Juhnke</strong> put on quite the show for Lakeville North. The six rotation South Dakota recruit used her blend of power and finesse to score plenty of points.  For [program_tooltip program_id='430430' first='Lakeville' last='South'], <strong>Jasmine Mulvihill</strong> had a major scoring presence along with the stability of<strong> Alena Moldan</strong> in the backrow. However this was also a chance for Sophomores <strong>Jasmine Weidemann</strong> and <strong>Ava Moes</strong> to show the state was to come for 2018 and beyond. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What about 2019?  </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">[program_tooltip program_id='430430' first='Lakeville' last='South'] is going to come back strong and teams will have to stop <strong>Moes</strong>.  She can score points from anywhere in the front row. I have seen her play in the middle and on the pin, will be interesting to see how she is utilized this upcoming high school season. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wayzata could be a big time favorite in 2019.  With a team comprised of a lot of Sophomores and Juniors in 2018, these athletes have another year of experience and some polished skills with middle blocker <strong>Lily Emlong</strong> committed to Elon and <strong>Elizabeth Helmich</strong>, one of the top players in 2020 committed to James Madison, they will be getting set by <strong>Olivia Johnson</strong> who may be one of the best available setters in 2020.  Class of 2021 6'3 pin hitter <strong>Sophie Jesewitz</strong> just keeps getting better every time she steps on the court. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Minneota will lose some top players to graduation who were key parts to their state title run, however they still have Rolbiecki coming back along with other Class of 2022 athletes in <strong>Mckenna Yost, Abbie Frie, and McKenzie Tolk.</strong>  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Do not write off Champlin Park.  They will have some big time losses to graduation, but they also return a strong Senior class in Prasky, Hilley, and Stalpes.  They will also return experience in libero/ds <strong>Megan Panser</strong>. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marshall will be back and even more hungry in 2019 after losing a five set match in the championship.  They will return setter/right side <strong>Logan Sherman</strong> as well as libero <strong>Mia</strong> <strong>Schniable</strong>. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There will be a new team joining the field in 2019 that could shake the applecart.  River Falls High School out of Wisconsin. The Wildcats will be one of the top teams in the Wisconsin's largest class after a state runner up finish in 2017 and the state semifinals in 2018.  They will be led by Seniors <strong>Emily Banitt (Loyola-Chicago), Halle Olson (Florida Atlantic), Maddi Kealy (MN-Duluth), and Junior Anna Wolf (Minnesota)</strong>. This tournament just got stronger. </span></p>