Section Volleyball: Grand Rapids Earns Redemption Against Princeton to Head to State

The Thunderhawks are back at state after missing out in 2024.

HERMANTOWN, Minn.- Back in August, the Grand Rapids volleyball team began their season with a four-set loss to Princeton.

Over two months later, the Thunderhawks returned the favor. This time defeating the Tigers, 3-1 in the 7AAA title game.

Grand Rapids advances to state for the first time since the 2023 season.

“Every year we have really coachable girls. I don’t put a lot of stock into our first few games of the year and I think we’ve proved that time and time again where we might not have as good of a record, but we play tough competition. We have to travel a lot to go to big tournaments in order to see that competition. That’s kind of our prep for sections and it’s working,” said head coach Bekah Sutherland.

“Our gym is really competitive so our competitiveness is what really got us here. I think we’re just so scrappy, we’re really gritty and we really want the ball to put it away,” added senior Colby LaPlant.

It’s also the 8th time in program history they’ve made it to the big dance.