ST. PAUL, Minn (KWAD) – The road to a state championship is officially set. The Minnesota State High School League released the 2025 State Volleyball Tournament brackets Sunday, with 32 teams across four classes earning their shot at the title. All matches will take place November 5th through 8th at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul—formerly known as the Xcel Energy Center. Three of the four state champions from last year’s tournament make a return to defend their title.
Defending Class A champ and top-seeded Mayer Lutheran (24-7) opens against North Woods (24-3) on Thursday, November 6 at 5:00 p.m. Section 5A champion Nevis (23-7), earned the #7 seed in the tournament and will face #2 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (28-5) at 7:00 on Thursday night. Other quarterfinals feature: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (24-6) vs. Cleveland (26-6) and Fillmore Central (25-6) vs. Ada-Borup-West (23-8). Semifinals are set for Friday, November 7, with the Class A Championship scheduled for Saturday, November 8 at 2:30 p.m.
In Class AA, defending champion and 8AA representative Hawley (29-2) earned the top seed in the tournament and will face New London-Spicer (17-10) in Thursday’s early match at 1:00 p.m. Other first-round matchups include Southwest Christian (18-14) vs. New Life Academy (26-4), Albany (27-3) vs. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (22-7), and Chatfield (24-7) vs. Esko (24-4). Semifinals will be played Friday evening, with the Class AA title match taking place Saturday, November 8 at 3:00 p.m.
There will be a new champion in Class AAA this season with defending champ Alexandria moving up to AAAA over the off-season. The Cards made a strong run at the AAAA field, losing to Sartell in the 8AAAA championship. Last season’s runner-up Marshall (30-2) is this year’s top seed and will meet Big Lake (13-17) at 5:00 p.m. in the quarterfinal. Other opening-round matches include Sauk Rapids-Rice (25-2) vs. Cretin-Derham Hall (22-4), Benilde-St. Margaret’s (26-5) vs. Grand Rapids (22-10), and Stewartville (26-4) vs. Mahtomedi (21-9). The Class AAA Championship will be played Saturday, November 8 at 6:30 p.m.
The state’s largest schools take center stage beginning Wednesday afternoon in the Class AAAA tournament. Top-seeded Lakeville South (28-3) are the defending state champs and drew Sartell (20-12) in the opening round at 1:00 p.m. Additional Class AAAA quarterfinal matchups feature Roseville Area (23-7) vs. Rogers (25-6), East Ridge (22-7) vs. Apple Valley (18-9), and Prior Lake (21-10) vs. Centennial (22-8). The Class AAAA Championship caps the tournament Saturday night, November 8 at 7:00 p.m.