The Almosts: Class AA

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This time of year we are all talking about the teams and players that punched their ticket and will be heading to the X. What about those teams and players that are really good, made it deep in the postseason and ALMOST made it to the X. So let's talk about a few of those teams because they did a killer job this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Redwood Valley</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'll be quite honest that I was bummed to see Redwood Valley knocked out before state. I was really looking forward to hearing their phenomenal pep band again. But also because I had seen them play at the Class AA Showcase and there were a couple athletes that really impressed me and I wanted to see them play again in their senior season. One, was [player_tooltip player_id='497645' first='Hailyn' last='Ourada'], a 5'1 setter who is a feisty competitor and I love it! Despite her smaller stature she doesn't back down from a battle at the net. The other was [player_tooltip player_id='203839' first='Kendall' last='Huhnerkoch'], a 5'10 middle blocker who packs a real punch. She has a great swing across her body and won't hesitate to power through the block. She also adds an aggressive serve to the lineup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Belle Plaine</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was impressed with the fire power of Belle Plaine this season but this just wasn't their year. Their offense was driven by senior, [player_tooltip player_id='234999' first='Rachel' last='Johnson'], who not only has the ability to distribute the ball but she can take a big swing from either pin. UW-Eau Claire will be getting a high IQ and physical player in 2025 with Johnson. She's had the Martin sisters and [player_tooltip player_id='455614' first='Alaina' last='Johnston'] as her high powered weapons this season and they will graduate [player_tooltip player_id='714041' first='Ellie' last='Martin'] out of the middle but they will return Setter/Right Side, [player_tooltip player_id='698692' first='Emma' last='Martin'] and outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='455614' first='Alaina' last='Johnston'] in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Concordia Academy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Concordia Academy has spent some time in the MN Volleyball Coach's Association top ten but couldn't quite make it past St. Croix Lutheran in the Section Championship. They will lose [player_tooltip player_id='285255' first='Julia' last='Bigalke'] to graduation and with that a strong presence at the net. Bigalke knows how to run a nice slide route and is killer in the GAP. Setter, [player_tooltip player_id='497526' first='Grace' last='Tverberg'] had a particularly solid connection with Bigalke. Tverberg did a nice job with tight passes and made sure to move the ball around. Concordia will return a young sparkplug with [player_tooltip player_id='714881' first='Ella' last='Bohren'] and [player_tooltip player_id='714885' first='Addie' last='Pickett'] who can both play some great defense out of middle back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->