St. Michael-Albertville entered the 2021 Class 4A, Section 8 championship game knowing it had a good chance of securing its first state tournament berth since 2008. The Knights had, after all, beaten Rogers in five sets in a season opener.
But Rogers stunned the Knights in three sets and earned its first-ever state tournament appearance.
So here we are a year later, and No. 4-4A Rogers enters as the favorite to win the match and the section. A victory here wouldn't change what happened a year ago, but it might ease the sting just a bit for the returning Knights players and plant a seed of doubt in the Royals come section tournament time.
A trio of seniors, front-liners Emma Ellingson (25 kills), Hannah Bruskiewicz (22 kills, 15 digs) and Taylor Dawson (17 kills, 15 digs), lead Rogers. Do-it-all sophomore Anya Schmidt (16 kills, 36 assists, 9 service aces, 23 digs) also adds a bit of energy to the mix for the Royals (3-1, 1-0 Northwest Suburban).
Senior setter Khendal Johnson (84 assists) runs the Knights' offense, feeding sophomore hitters Kendra Behrens and Abby Hoselton (22 kills each), while junior Kaylie Cox (43 digs) anchors the defense. Junior Natalie Pilney leads St. Michael-Albertville (7-1, 0-0 Lake) with 27 kills.