HERMANTOWN — Exactly one year from today, boys volleyball teams from across the state will compete for a spot in the inaugural Minnesota High School League state tournament, scheduled for June 2025.
The long-awaited transition to a sanctioned national team would mark a new chapter for the ever-growing sport, but programs like Procter/Hermantown had long been in the mix for the past year, long before the MSHSL approved the move in May 2023. has laid the foundation for this.
The Norseman are in their fifth season in the Minnesota Boys High School Volleyball Association of the Northern Conference. This season's additions to the conference include Grand Rapids, Cloquet and Bemidji.
The Bemidji Lumberjacks were the newest team to come to Hermantown Middle School on Thursday, May 9, for the Northmans' final home game of the transition season. After winning their season opener in April, the Northern Conference newcomers got a little revenge this time around, defeating the veteran-studded Norse in straight sets, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 27). . -twenty five).
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“We beat them on their home field, so this wasn't a surprise to me,” Proctor/Hermantown head coach Ryan Wright said after the game. “They're a tough team. Yeah, I think it's like a chess match, so we're going to have to think about how to come back from here, defend their attack or vice versa. .”
The loss was the first of the season for a Norse team that has consistently ranked at or near the top of the Northern Conference in recent years. Under the current system, conference winners qualify for the Minnesota Boys High School Volleyball Association state tournament by the end of the season.
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Norse setter Trenton Bonin is one of the few players remaining from the team's last trip to state in 2022. The goal for Bonin is to earn a trip to Shakopee High School in a 14-team tournament in June, but despite the friendships and connections, the accomplishments he has built with the team this season are a hindrance to postseason success. far more than sex.
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“It would be really exciting to make it to state, but I think it's (even) better to grow as a team,” said Bonnin, who attends Lakeview Christian Academy. “I think we have a better chemistry and bond this year because we have never had such a great experience on a team.”
As a junior this season, Bonin will have a chance to make those connections during the first MSHSL-sanctioned season next spring. The move to national teams would bring all the traditional features associated with sanctioned sports, including greater attention to the sport itself.
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“I'm really excited about the warm-up music. It's what sanctioned sports do and it just gets cheers. It's really great for more people to know about this sport,” he said. Told.
Unfortunately, a new era in men's volleyball will begin after the graduation of the team's five seniors: John Ganucci, Alex Johnson, Logan Lynam, Giovanni Serafini and Will Zieden. Still, Ganucci remains excited about his younger teammates, who will benefit from the national team.
“I think it’s great for my teammates because we get to have more guys play for us and we get to play against more schools,” Ganucci said. “And since we’re having a hard time getting gyms open here in Hermantown, we have more practice time.”
As one chapter ends, a new one begins for Ganucci, who will continue his playing career at the Division III level at Greenville University in Greenville, Illinois. The decision was easy for Ganucci because he had the opportunity to continue competing in the sport he loves.
“I’m really happy to be able to continue playing this sport in college,” he said. “I really love playing, so I don’t care what level I’m playing at, just keep playing.”
Ganucci and his Norse teammates will play three more games in May to transition the season. They are scheduled to play Cloquet and Grand Rapids before facing Bemidji in the final game of the season. After splitting the first two conferences, the final one could potentially decide which one advances to the state tournament.
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Ganucci is looking forward to a rematch with the Lumberjacks after Thursday's blowout loss.
“We've played really well so far (this season),” he said. “We beat them in the first game, but in this game we made a lot of little mistakes. If we can fix those, I think we can definitely beat them next time.”
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