State quarterfinals: Champlin Park advances to Class 4A semifinals after five-set thriller over Chanhassen

State quarterfinals: Champlin Park advances to Class 4A semifinals after five-set thriller over Chanhassen In other matches, Top seed and defending 4A champ Lakeville South was tested by No. 8 seed Alexandria; Apple Valley swept Roseville. Comment Gift Share By Marcus Fuller and Ron Haggstrom The Minnesota Star Tribune November 11, 2026 at 6:07 PM Chanhassen High pulled off one of the wildest rallies fans will ever see in a high school volleyball match during the Class 4A quarterfinal Wednesday against Champlin Park. The Storm’s fan section inside Grand Casino Arena roared as their team scored 10 straight points to win the second set 26-24 when facing match point. It seemed Chanhassen had stolen the game’s momentum, but the Rebels had other plans. Champlin Park pulled a reverse sweep, winning the next three sets to win the match 3-2 in scores of 19-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-13 and 15-13. “We just needed to get back to doing what we do,” said Champlin Park coach Amy Fonoti, who took over the program when John Yunker left for Lakeville North last year. “We had nerves. We had some young players out there on the court who had not been through this experience before. Sometimes you just have got to get that out of your system.” Champlin Park, making its first trip to state since a runner-up finish in 2024, entered the state tournament having won 14 of its last 15 matches. Seniors Rylee Inman and Lucy Howe had 33 kills combined for the Rebels, who will face No. 2 seed Eagan in Thursday’s semifinals. The Wildcats are the last team to beat Eagan this season. Inman’s younger sister, Reagan, landed back-to-back aces to give the Rebels an 11-5 lead in the fifth set. The Storm went on a 6-0 run to pull within a point, 11-10. Rylee Inman slammed the 19th of her team-best 21 kills to stop Chanhassen’s rally and give the Rebels a 14-10 lead. The Storm closed the deficit to 14-13, but it wasn’t enough. ADVERTISEMENT advertisement Carly Murphy and Ella Zieske finished with 15 kills apiece for the Storm, who came close to the upset in their first trip to state. “This environment can be hard to play in for the very first time,” Chanhassen coach Lindsay Anderson said. “We played Champlin Park earlier in the season [3-1 loss] and we battled better in this match. There were runs on both sides and a bit of a rollercoaster match.” 1/24 Related Coverage Who will win? Our picks for every girls volleyball state tournament bracket. Girls Volleyball Meet the 2026 Strib Varsity All-Minnesota girls volleyball team Girls Volleyball Girls volleyball state tournament brackets are set: See every matchup Girls Volleyball Cougars tested by Alexandria Two-time defending Class 4A champ Lakeville South entered the state tournament as the favorite in a stacked field. That’s despite the Cougars having only three seniors on its roster in Kaelyn Bjorklund, Elleora Utecht and Aurianna Benshoof. After dominating the first set, Lakeville South had to come from behind in the final two sets. The Cougars trailed by six points twice in the third set, but managed to sweep Alexandria 25-10, 25-22, 29-27. “We’re excited to be here and to be successful in the first step to a championship,” Lakeville South coach Steve Willingham said. “Give a lot of credit to [coach Sam Hess] and the Alexandria Cardinals. That was probably one of the better blocking teams we played this year.” advertisement Bjorklund, who was named Ms. Baden Volleyball on Tuesday night by the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association, led Lakeville South with 13 kills and 15 assists. Sisters Elleora and Katriel Utecht added 12 and 10 kills, respectively. The Cougars will play No. 4 seed Apple Valley in Thursday’s semifinals. In other Class 4A quarterfinals matches: Apple Valley 3, Roseville 0: It was an even matchup based on seeding. Size and experience turned it into a mismatch. Fourth-seeded Apple Valley, behind its two all-state senior hitters, swept No. 5 Roseville 25-20, 25-23, 25-22 in the Class 4A girls’ volleyball state tournament quarterfinals at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. The Eagles (23-6) are coming off a third-place finish in the state tournament a year ago. The Eagles’ stellar tandem of outside hitter Sophia Cowan (14) and middle hitter Ginny Gores (12) combined for 26 kills. Teammate senior middle hitter Finley Roemer chipped in with six kills. Apple Valley junior setter Elsa Lee knew exactly who to turn to anytime the Raiders (24-7) drew close in the three games, finishing with 30 assists. Roseville was paced by sophomore outside hitter Madeline Gaedy, who finished with eight kills. Junior setter Whitney Walen had 27 assists. advertisement advertisement Eagan 3, Blaine 0: The seven-time state champion Eagan Wildcats (26-3) put an exclamation point on the South Suburban Conference’s opening-round dominance, disposing of the Bengals (19-9) in three straight games, 25-18, 25-21 and 25-9 in just over an hour. Junior Mesa Jameson paced Eagan’s attack with 13 kills while senior Josslyn Vesledahl added 12. Mary Berran, also a junior, had 29 set assists. Freshman outside hitter Casey Siemback had seven kills to lead Blaine. Share Comment About the Authors Marcus Fuller Reporter Marcus Fuller is Strib Varsity's Insider reporter, providing high school beat coverage, features, analysis and recruiting updates. He's a former longtime Gophers and college sports writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune. See More Ron Haggstrom advertisement advertisement More From Girls Volleyball Volleyball state tournaments: Brackets and Strib Varsity predictions Girls Volleyball Meet the 2026 Strib Varsity All-Minnesota girls volleyball team Girls Volleyball Girls volleyball state tournament brackets are set: See every matchup Girls Volleyball advertisement advertisement