Top-seeded Mayer Lutheran, playing for the state title for the fourth year in a row, swept No. 2 seed Minneota 25-14, 27-25, 25-17 on Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center to secure the Class 1A volleyball championship.
Senior Marley Martin and sophomore Courtney Tuttle led the Crusaders with 10 kills each. Minneota sophomore Jaylyn Coequyt recorded a match-high 16 kills.
The Crusaders (31-5) have gone 2-2 in state championship matches the past four years, winning titles in 2021 and now 2024. It’s their fifth volleyball state title overall, and their fourth since 2016.
Mayer Lutheran also defeated Minneota 2-0 in invitational play on Sept. 7. Minneota finished as the state runner-up to Mayer Lutheran in 2021. Since 2017, the Crusaders are 3-1 against Minneota (24-12) in the state championship.
Both programs came into Saturday’s match with plenty of state tournament history, the Crusaders in their 18th state tournament and the Vikings making a 16th trip. Each school came in hoping for a fifth state championship.
Mayer Lutheran jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the way to taking the first set. The Crusaders also used a few runs of points in the second set to grab the lead. But Minneota went on a 7-0 run to tie the score 23-23. The Vikings tied the score two more times before Mayer Lutheran closed out the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
A third set that started out back and forth eventually swung in Mayer Lutheran’s direction, a 6-1 run producing a 16-11 lead. Mayer Lutheran closed out the match with Martin’s 10th kill of the match.
