Returning Prospects from Class 2A State Tournament

<p>The Stewartville Tigers won the class 2A state title in 2019 and return some great offense that should have them among the favorites entering 2020. As the tournament featured some of the top talent in class 2A, there were also several key role players and contributors that will be back this fall to try to repeat their state tournament appearance. Here is a collection of some of some of those athletes:</p> <p><strong>Belle Plaine</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="100592" first="Sydney" last="Meyer"] - 2022 | L:</strong> Meyer provides good court support for her team on both sides of the ball. She has good quickness and can pass and defend with good balance and pursuit. Her court presence can stabilize this team’s offense and her veteran leadership and skills will be needed to fuel this offense through the first contact.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Concordia Academy</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Sydney Pelzner - 2021 | OH:</strong> Pelzner completes Concordia’s pin duo that can bring some power and that scored the bulk of their points. She has good footwork in her approach patterns and can hit with good range to add to the power she can generate. She also has great skills at the service line to offer up a variety of movement and placement to disrupt opponents.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="72801" first="Shaina" last="Zinter"] - 2022 | MH:</strong> Zinter provided good support in the middle for Concordia’s offense that includes some great power on the pins. She is athletic with good quickness from her block work to transition to make herself available. She has good skills to be able to score from the pins if needed as well while making a big impact defensively with a quick move over the net to shut down attackers. Look for her production to increase in 2020.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Marshall</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="72822" first="Tessa" last="Gannott"] - 2022 | MH/OH:</strong> Gannott is athletic and gets off the floor well. She has nice arm and opens up to the setter well to create torque and power. She played a lot of middle for Marshall but can swing from a variety of locations if needed. Her athleticism helps her well defensively also as her quickness off the court gets her hands over the net to fill up space well. She should see an increase her her opportunities for this team in 2020.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="100589" first="Jordyn" last="Hilgemann"] - 2021 | OH:</strong> Hilgemann provides some of Marshall’s biggest power from the pins. Her approach work is fluid with good momentum build that helps utilize her arm and torque to her advantage in the air. She has good net awareness and can move the ball around or swing aggressively to challenge the block well. Her offensive production in 2020 will be key for this Marshall squad after losing some key seniors from a year ago.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Stewartville</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="71952" first="Jolie" last="Stecher"] - 2021 | OH/MH:</strong> An all-conference selection in 2019, Stecher will be counted upon to increase her offensive production following the graduation of a couple of veteran arms. She has the tools, size, and versatility to increase her productivity as an attacker. She also can pass and defend well at the net, which will be key if Stewartville is to create a late season opportunity to defend their state title.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Watertown-Mayer</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="100567" first="Emily" last="Burns"] - 2022 | OH:</strong> Burns provided great support for this team in a variety of ways. She can take aggressive swings when needed while providing good range defensively in the back row. Burns is a good utility-type of athlete and performs all skills well, including aggressive serving, that every team needs to compete at the highest level.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="100566" first="Ashley" last="Olson"] - 2022 | MH:</strong> With good size and presence in the middle Olson’s biggest contributions seemingly came on the defensive side as she puts up a big block. She has good vision and gets over the net with strong hands. As she also scored points with her arm she will become more effective as an option with improved spacing and increased arm and foot speed.</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="73495" first="Kate" last="Thibault"] - 2023 | L:</strong> This team’s libero, the younger Thibault made big contributions with her passing and defense. She has good quickness and instincts and makes tough plays look easy. Her experience on this stage and with one of MN Select’s top teams is among the best as she plays with great effort and competitiveness.</li> </ul>