State Volleyball Champs in Class A Will be from Gopher Conference

It's an all Gopher Conference match-up Saturday in the Class A state volleyball championship at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The defending state champion Faribault Bethlehem Academy Cardinals will play the Waterville-Elyisan-Morristown Buccaneers in the title match.

The Cardinals are going for their second back-to-back title and eighth overall. If they prevail Saturday they will have four state titles in the past five years.

Color commentator Bethany Boelter pointed out in our broadcast on KDHL Friday it's really hard to tell who is playing better right now because of the competition faced at state.

By receiving the top seed, Bethlehem Academy's road to the title match hasn't been the same as No. 3 seed Waterville-Elysian-Morristown's.

The Cardinals swept previously unbeaten Cook County on Thursday 25-15, 25-10 and 25-9 and swept No. 4 seed Heritage Christian Academy Friday 25-11, 25-17 and 25-19.

The Buccaneers knocked off last year's Class A consolation champions from Ada-Borup on Thursday 25-14, 25-20 and 25-9 and outlasted Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the semis, winning the first two sets 27-25, 26-24 before losing the third 26-24 and winning the fourth 25-21.

All I can say is the Cardinals better bring their A game.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown head coach Crystal Lamont has credited her eight seniors all year for giving her team a focus to play as hard as you can on every point.

The Bucs have won with incredible efficiency on offense in the win over Ada-Borup and never say die, do whatever it takes to get a point defense in the win over Tracy-Milroy-Balaton.

Senior Kamryn Kendall has more than 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, a combination you don't see every day.

Senior Haley Domonoske has the school record for blocks in her career and is so good at stuffing attacks at the net.

Junior Kate Masberg never seems to get rattled. She's an exceptional attacker, helps with assists and can dig balls you would never imagine could be turned into accurate passes.

Senior RaeAhna Harmon may be the key for the Buccaneers. She is the only player for WEM to have double doubles in each of the state tournament matches.

I have really enjoyed watching freshman Paige Pittman go about her business. She has saved a number of balls from being overpasses or in the net with a look of ease that astounds me. Her ability to disperse the ball equally to attackers is fun to watch.

Faribault Bethlehem Academy has not had to scramble for points much over the past couple of days, and that might change on Saturday.

The Cardinals can play "out of system," as coaches call it, with the best of them. Primarily because not only do they have some players with very high volleyball IQs but great athleticism.

Junior Payton Nutter can do it all on the volleyball court (how many people get a candy bar named after them), and even though you know the Buccaneers are very familiar with their conference foes it's so hard to stop her because of her incredible array of attacks at the net. The beauty of Nutter's game is her vision at the net, a gift that allows her to simply hit the ball to a empty spot on the court.

Junior setter Shelby Meyer just might be the key to the title match. She is also very athletic and has been involved in more attacking at the net, which gives coach Franz Boelter's team another weapon for opponents to watch out for.

The seniors for Waterville-Elysian-Morristown have never beaten Bethlehem Academy and for them nothing would be sweeter than to get their first win in a state title match.

Will the Cardinals be hungry enough after three titles in the past four years?

We will find out Saturday and Bethany Boelter and John Anderson will have the call on Kat Kountry 105 104.9 FM. You can also listen online or download the free RadioPup app on your favorite mobile device.

Coverage will begin at 12:30PM if the match is on time