Alexandria knocks off three-time defending state champion Marshall for Class 3A volleyball championship

Alexandria Area made sure a signature win wasn’t wasted.

In the semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Volleyball State Tournament, the No. 5 seed Cardinals pulled off the upset of the event by defeating Delano, the top seed in Class AAA who had not suffered a loss all season. While it was certainly a milestone, Alexandria Area wanted to make sure it wasn’t the crescendo of the season.

No, that would come 36 hours later.

Junior hitter Hadley Thull took a pass from senior Julia Doherty and delivered a powerful kill that put the finishing touches on a postseason run of equal parts dominance and magic in the 25-23, 25-22, 21-25 , Alexandria Area’s 25-22 victory over No. 2 Marshall in the Class AAA championship game on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.

Thull, who has committed to play basketball at South Dakota State, finished with 23 kills and 16 digs to give the Cardinals (23-10) their first volleyball state championship since 1999, when they captured the Class AAA title in the three-class system. Another title came in 1995 as Class AA champion.

To achieve this, the cardinals had to defeat Marshall, the eternal state power. Marshall (28-7) was a three-time defending Class AAA champion in this four-class era.

After dropping the first two sets, the Tigers avoided the sweep with a win in the third set. Marshall looked set to force a deciding fifth set, but Alexandria broke a 22-point deadlock by ending the season with three straight points.

Junior hitter Reese Drake led the Tigers with 20 kills.