There were no surprises in the first round of the Section One, Class AA volleyball tournament on Thursday night as the top four seeded teams advanced in both the West and East sub-sections.
Favored teams Kingsland, Stewartville, Byron and Zumbrota-Mazeppa are still alive in the Section 1AA West sub-section. In 1AA East, Wabasha-Kellogg, St. Charles, Chatfield and Lewiston-Altura are still in the hunt.
The Section 1A field is also down to the final eight teams. In 1A East, Mabel-Canton and Elgin-Millville are still unbeaten, and Lanesboro and Spring Grove are also still alive.
That sets the stage for a long day of sub-section semifinals Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.
There'll be four Section 1AA matches and four Section 1A matches on side-by-side courts. Start times are noon, 1:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m.
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Rochester Lourdes volleyball coach Stephanie Rupp might have been happier had her eighth-seeded team upset top-seed Kingsland, but the way the Eagles played left her pleased despite the season-ending loss.
"They played fantastic," she said of her team. "You couldn't ask for a better game. For an eight-seed to have scores like that, it shows how we've progressed through the season.
"We kept climbing and showed that we are competitors now."
Lourdes loses just two seniors, Emily Deschamps and Erin Korsmo. The Eagles finished the season 11-17.
Lake City's season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to Byron in Section 1AA West, but L.C. head coach Malia Schroeder wasn't able to be there. Schroeder gave birth to a baby girl on Thursday morning. Malia and her husband gave her a Hawaiian name, Makana.
St. Charles' Paige DeVine had 14 kills and was perfect serving for the Saints in a 3-0 win over Winona Cotter in Section 1AA East.
Kasson-Mantorville opened the Section 2AA East tournament with a 3-0 win over Montgomery Lonsdale, as Cayla Schroeder delivered 14 kills and four blocks. K-M, the two-time defending 2AA champion, improved to 24-2.
Hayfield beat Triton in four games in Section 2AA East, thanks to a big game from Jenna Swanson. She had 25 points serving, including eight ace serves, along with 12 kills.
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Mabel-Canton star Karlie Urbaniak had 18 kills and Brittany Pierce had 36 set assists as the Cougars eliminated Goodhue in three games.
Candace Olstad had another big night for Elgin-Millville. She was 12-of-13 serving, had 26 kills, 4 aces, 4 digs and 2 ace blocks.
Maggie McNamara had 17 set assists, 15 digs and 3 ace serves for Zumbrota-Mazeppa, which beat Pine Island.
