It looked like it might be “easy.” Lakeville South cruised through its first two matches of the Class 4A state tournament, delivering a pair of sweeps largely featuring dominant sets. Saturday looked like more of the same in the final at Xcel Energy Center.
The Cougars bested Champlin Park 25-16 in the first set and 25-17 in the second. One more performance like that and Lakeville South would breeze to its first state title in program history. It wasn’t that easy — it’s never that easy.
But that likely made it all the sweeter. The Cougars did it the hard way, holding off second-seeded Champlin Park in a five-set thriller, 25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 20-25, 15-10, to win state title No. 1 in the program’s third trip to St.
Paul. “It’s insane,” Cougars sophomore Kaelyn Bjorklund said. “I don’t know when it’s going to hit us.
But when it hits us, we’re going to be partying.” The two programs competing Saturday shared a similar path to this point. Both have been excellent teams for years, only to suffer heartbreak in sections.
Both finally broke through this fall to get back to state, and rode the wave of momentum all the way to Saturday’s finale. And the finale lived up to its billing. Gophers commit Carly Gilk paced the Rebels (30-4) with 22 kills.
Romi Chlebecek led Lakeville South with 20 kills, while Elleora Utecht had 17 in a match that featured some wild momentum shifts, and ultimately ended in euphoria for the Cougars. So many great players and team.
