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In 1994, Bill Clinton was President, a gallon of gas was $1.11, ‘The Sign’ by Ace of Base was the top song in the world, and the North Branch volleyball team was going to state.

Things have changed just a bit since then, but North Branch will be making their long-awaited return to the state volleyball tournament, the first time in 21 years.
The Vikings earned their trip with a commanding run through Section 7AAA that saw them sweep every opponent.

The final hurdle was Grand Rapids, who was 24-3 on the year, with one of those losses to North Branch. The Vikings quickly disposed of them in the section championship match 25-18, 25-16 and 25-22 at Forest Lake on Saturday, November 7. Even the third set wasn’t particularly close most of the time as the Vikings flew out to a 17-8 lead and never allowed Grand Rapids to lead.

The atmosphere in the gym equaled that of an intense home match for the Vikings. Their fans filled three quarters of the large Forest Lake gym, while Grand Rapids’ fans sparsely populated the other quarter.

Every point drew roars from the student body and they stayed rowdy all match.

Courtney and Cianna Selbitschka led the way on offense for North Branch. The sisters constantly pounded balls to the floor that Grand Rapids either couldn’t handle or were left scrambling to chase down.

Kelsey Allaman  and Morgen Coleman also chipped in some big, timely kills.

On the defensive side, the Lady Vikes were crisp, clean and accurate. When Grand Rapids got hits through the North Branch block, there was Cassie Kunshier, Sydney Robillard, or one of the Selbitschka sisters to scoop it off the floor. The foursome combined for 55 digs.

Also, the serving of Robillard and Katie Burnside were important parts of North Branch’s attack late in the game. In the third set, when Grand Rapids was facing a tough mountain to climb, Burnside and Robillard teamed up for four of their five aces to really take the air out of the Thunderhawk sails.

The win moved North Branch through to the state tournament for the first time since 1994. The top five teams at the state tournament are seeded, with the fourth and fifth ranked teams playing each other and the other three randomly drawn against the top three teams. Heading into sections, it was a long shot for North Branch to earn any sort of seeding on the state level, but after the clinic they put on, there was hope they would grab one of the top five seeded spots.

It didn’t happen, however, and they were left unseeded and up against third-seeded Champlin Park on Thursday, November 12 at the Xcel Energy Center at 11 a.m. on Court One.

In the first round of the state tournament, the Vikings fell in three sets to Champlin Park, but they rebounded for a five set win in the consolation bracket over Rochester Mayo. They'll play for the consolation championship on Saturday, November 14 at 9 a.m. against Moorhead.

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