East Grand Forks volleyball sweeps Barnesville to punch ticket to state for first time in program history

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum By Ryan Spitza Today at 10:25 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? MOORHEAD — The East Grand Forks volleyball team has never advanced to the state tournament. Until now. ADVERTISEMENT Led by 12 kills and eight blocks from junior Lanee Hams, the Green Wave swept Barnesville 3-0 to win the Minnesota Section 8, Class 2A volleyball championship at Moorhead High School on Saturday night. Set scores were 25-20, 25-20, 25-10. “Our team literally made history, I can’t even express the emotions that I’m feeling,” Hams said. “So happy, like overjoyed. This is the only team that I would want to go to state with. I wouldn’t want to change anything.” Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum EGF (21-9), the section's No. 3 seed, will move on to the Class 2A state tournament, set for Nov. 12-14 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Seeding and brackets will be announced by the Minnesota State High School League on Sunday. “I told the girls before the game we’re not only playing for ourselves and each other, but we’re playing for the 800 girls before them that tried and didn’t make it to state,” longtime EGF head coach Paula Devine said. “To make history like that (tonight) and knowing our alumni out there are proud of them … I’m super proud of them and it means the world.” Barnesville, the section No. 1 seed, ended its season with a 22-9 record. The Trojans were paced on Saturday by Mya Stuvland’s eight kills and two aces. “(EGF) came out and they were attacking us from all pins on the court,” Barnesville head coach Megan Askegaard said. “We were just a little bit more hesitant and a little bit more tentative. We played not in our regular system where we let them attack us. ADVERTISEMENT “They played a great game, they served us very tough from the start and came swinging hard where we were just a little more reserved.” Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Askegaard said she’s proud of the way her senior-laden group performed this season. “This group of seniors is something special,” Askegaard said. “I can’t remember a year in 19 years that I’ve had a group of nine seniors that get in and see a lot of court time plus one special manager. This group is going to be a really tough group to replace.” Addyson Rasmussen chipped in five kills for the Trojans while Jayla Amundson recorded 10 digs. Sydney McDonald’s third kill of the match gave the Green Wave set point in the first frame. EGF secured the win in the second set on a four-hit violation before a Barnesville attack error gave the Green Wave match point in the third. “I was so excited,” said EGF senior Hayden Berg, who finished with two aces and 27 assists. “I had a lot of faith coming into it with my teammates. We’ve worked so hard. We fell short last year in the semifinals and I don’t know, we just had the feeling in us all season. It’s a lot of emotions and it’s so exciting.” ADVERTISEMENT Barnesville bested EGF twice in the regular season. The Green Wave had momentum entering the section final, however, having won seven of their last eight matches. “We’ve just started jelling late in the season and never looked back,” Devine said. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum McDonald and Camille Julien each added seven kills for the Green Wave while McDonald and Emma Pieper each chipped in two aces. Kelsey Spilde had 22 digs defensively. Now, EGF will be Section 8’s representative at the state tournament for the first time. “I can’t wait, it’s like my dream,” Hams said. “I’m more excited for that than anything I’ve been excited for.” Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags GIRLS VOLLEYBALL BARNESVILLE TROJANS EAST GRAND FORKS GREEN WAVE MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE PREP SPORTS By Ryan Spitza Ryan Spitza joined The Forum in December 2021 as a sports reporter. He grew up in Marquette, Mich., a city of 20,000 on the southern shore of Lake Superior. He majored in multimedia journalism and minored in public relations at Northern Michigan University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in May 2019. While attending college, Spitza gained real-world experience covering high school and college athletics for both The Mining Journal and The North Wind. Spitza can be reached at 701-451-5613 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ryspitza. 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