For the first time in school history, the St. Louis Park Orioles girls volleyball team advanced to the state tournament as they beat the top seeded Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars in five sets to bring home the Section 6AAA championship trophy.
Unfortunately, the Orioles got a difficult draw as they will open the Class AAA quarterfinals on Thursday, November 7 against the top seeded and unbeaten Eagan Wildcats at 9 AM at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The Wildcats head into the tournament with a record of 29-0 and have won their last 11 matches in straight sets. Eagan, under the veteran leadership of Kathy Gillen has won seven state titles and has appeared in the last six Class AAA championship games, losing last year in five sets to the Champlin Park Rebels.
As for the Orioles, head coach Whitney Meierotto-Simon is in her fifth season and the program has shown considerable improvement. In 2016, St. Louis Park finished 13-15 and reversed those numbers the following season. Last season, the Orioles finished 20-11 lost to the Edina Hornets in the Section 6AAA semifinals. They will head to St. Paul with a record of 24-6 and on a four match winning streak. St. Louis Park began the season 8-0 before losing to the Chaska Hawks September 17.
St. Louis Park's road to St. Paul has been a total team effort, anchored by setter Makaila Winward. On the outside are Hannah Howell, Faith Johnson and Elsa Bergland, who scored a service ace in the section semifinals against the Benilde-St. Margaret's and a couple of basketball players who made some outstanding blocks in sections, Kendall Coley and Raegan Alexander.
Can the Orioles end the Eagan Domination with an upset. Find out Thursday morning. For those unable to head to the X, the quarterfinals will be streamed live on prepspotlight.tv.
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