Photos by Samantha Davis: The Marshall volleyball workforce cheers on head coach Dan Westby as he walks as much as obtain his medal after the Tigers received the Class AAA state championship on Nov. 8 at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
MARSHALL — Grit, strain, reflection and friendship: 4 traits that the 2025 Marshall volleyball workforce honed in on this season and used to its benefit to ultimately declare the program’s fourth Class AAA state championship in 5 years. With all now mentioned and performed, this was a really memorable season for the Tigers, who attained their tenth state title — changing into the first Minnesota volleyball program to succeed in double digits — by pushing via strain with their distinctive stage of mutual assist and selflessness.
Walking onto the court docket for the championship match on Nov. 8, making it to the final day of the season in the state, No. 1 Marshall huddled collectively in the far again nook of the court docket to do its pregame cheer and broke off into warmups carrying smiles and sharing laughs. The evening ended with a 3-1 win over No. 2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s for the title, ending with a 33-2 general document.
“I think this team, the thing I’m most proud of is the fact they made a change from a year ago. The change had nothing to do with their talent, but it had everything to do with their approach to how they were going to do this,” Westby mentioned. “They did a much better job of just fighting hard for each other this year than they did a year ago.”
While capping off the season with its purpose of including to an already embellished trophy case, the journey to the finish with navigating excessive expectations was rooted in the deep relationships that move via the workforce.
Playing with pleasure
Marshall returned its core group of gamers from a yr previous to discipline an older, skilled roster this season. The Tigers additionally added a handful of latest contributors that made for a harmful well-rounded risk in part and state play.
“I’m happy we got to do it with this group, too, because I love this group of girls,” senior setter and center blocker Avery Fahl mentioned. “It’s been fun being a Marshall volleyball player.”
Fahl and Reese Drake each returned after incomes All-State honors final season, whereas Brooke Gillingham went on to hitch the two on the All-State workforce for the first time this yr. Junior libero Kezlyn Pinckney additionally returned as a member of the workforce’s veteran core, happening to hitch the aforementioned trio as certainly one of 4 Tigers on the All-Tournament workforce.
Laurel Ryks and Halle DeVos additionally returned as senior contributors after being part of the workforce for the previous few seasons.
In phrases of newer faces, the Tigers additionally obtained constant manufacturing from sophomore Julia Fahl at the exterior hitter spot and freshman Nora Holmgren at center blocker.
Throughout the postseason, the Tigers continued to go with and credit score each other on the chemistry everybody was devoted to constructing inside the circle, which performed a direct think about the workforce’s success.
“I think it helps that we’re all friends, inside and outside of sports,” senior defensive specialist Kyah Pinckney mentioned. “It makes it really easy to get along.”
“We have played together for many years, and it’s been the same group, and I think that really helped,” senior Bryn Webb added.
That chemistry solely continued to develop as the matches went on, particularly displaying after the ultimate level of Marshall’s championship-clinching win, as the gamers instantly crashed to the flooring along with celebratory tears falling as the coaches shared hugs with one another.
Overwhelmed with heightened feelings of gratitude and achievement, additionally got here the bittersweet feeling of ending their journey collectively that very same day.
“It was kind of unusual. When we were finished, we lost track of time and we were the last ones out of there [Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul], and they kind of had to kick us out, which is OK,” Westby mentioned. “We lost track of everything around us, and there was almost a feeling of nobody really wanted to leave, at least I felt that way. It was different. All the other teams had left, they were long gone, and we were still hanging around and spending additional time together.”
The Marshall neighborhood additionally continued to indicate up loud, making the journey and packing the area stands behind the Tigers’ bench.
“I think it’s [community support] been really great,” Drake mentioned. “Especially all of them traveling all over the Twin Cities to come watch us and support us is very awesome.”
Family ties
While there are a handful of household ties that run via the program with older siblings as soon as enjoying for Marshall, this yr’s squad was additionally embedded with household strings.
Sisters Avery and Julia Fahl, together with Kyah and Kezlyn Pinckney had the distinctive alternative to win a championship collectively throughout Avery and Kyah’s ultimate years enjoying as Tigers.
“I loved it. I mean, some people think I’m really hard on Julia, which I know I am, but I feel like I have to as an older sister,” Avery Fahl mentioned. “But, I loved it. I love watching her succeed.”
“As much as we bickered, even in practice or even during games … It was special,” Kyah Pinckney added.
Winning tradition in Marshall
Westby has been at the helm of all of Marshall’s 10 championships after taking on in 2004. Marshall has additionally received the previous eight consecutive part championships with one other eight state runner-up finishes. This yr marked its thirty fourth state match look.
The expectations set by Marshall’s first-ever volleyball coach, Dave Ahmann, helped set the profitable customary in Marshall, Westby mentioned after the championship. Assistant coach Terry Culhane additionally helped set the Tiger customary, taking on after Ahmann as the Marshall head coach till he moved to the Southwest Minnesota State University head teaching place in 2004. Ahmann, Culhane and Westby are all in the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association [MNVBCA] Hall of Fame.
Yet, turning Marshall into the winningest program in the state of Minnesota when it comes to titles left an early impression on the present gamers, igniting an early ardour to at some point make it onto the varsity workforce to have the likelihood to play beneath Westby.
“I feel like when we were younger in our Marshall JO [Junior Olympics] programs, he [Westby] was always there,” Gillingham mentioned. “When you’re little and you get to see those coaches that are coaching the varsity teams that you go to every Tuesday or Thursday night, it just makes it that much more special.”
“Being a little girl in the gym and playing with you guys, then if Mr. Westby were to come in, it was like, ‘Oh, it’s Mr. Westby,’” Trinity Brownlee mentioned. “He [also] always wants to know us for who we were.”
The workforce crammed the area with cheers for Westby as he walked as much as obtain his championship medal.
“I think the discipline he teaches and what it’s like to be a team and how it’s not just one person, that’s always making us better every day,” Avery Fahl mentioned, who discovered Westby as the workforce lined as much as obtain their medals to share a hug.
The final revenge tour
With 34 matches beneath their belt and one left for it all, the Tigers approached championship day feeling prepared to complete the job.
Avery Fahl famous her “heart was full” waking up that Saturday, whereas Drake detailed there have been some nerves flowing round, however they went away as soon as the workforce stepped on the court docket for warmups to alleviate the anticipation.
The second that sparked Marshall’s dedication to getting again to the championship match got here from the similar second a yr prior, when the Tigers have been upset by Alexandria for the title in 2024. From that time, they made the loss private and channeled that feeling all through the entirety of this season.
“From the beginning of the summer, it was a goal to never make that mistake again, because it was so horrible,” Gillingham mentioned. “We never forgot about it throughout the entire season. We reminded ourselves to keep us motivated.”
In the postgame press convention after the loss final yr, Westby mentioned the women could be reminded of the loss typically.
“And they were [reminded]. One of the things that we had talked about towards the end of [this] season, was I felt like I made a lot of mistakes at the end of the year as a coach, and we were going to make sure that we didn’t make those same mistakes again,” Westby mentioned, as the gamers shook their heads in disagreement. “We learned [from the] mistakes, we made some changes that needed to be made, and we did the right thing this time.”
“People probably wanted to doubt us after our loss last year,” Gillingham added. “But, we just came out in the beginning of the season and made a statement I feel like with that.”
Several of the gamers famous in the postseason that practices all summer time and season lengthy have been difficult and held to extraordinarily excessive requirements, making it a degree to push each other every day.
A number of particular turning factors in the season that proved Marshall’s strengths was the Southwest Challenge match in early September. The Tigers defeated 4 Class 4A groups, together with No. 8 Prior Lake, No. 4 Chanhassen and No. 2 Lakeville South.
“It was 16 years since Marshall won it, and that was really big for us,” Webb mentioned.
At the similar time as Marshall took on Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the Class 3A championship match at the finish of the season, Prior Lake and Lakeville South confronted off on the opposing court docket for the Class 4A championship.
“We just had potential,” Kyah Pinckney mentioned. “We knew it from the start, we had potential.”
Westby additionally famous the latest match in opposition to Windom for the Big South Conference championship on Oct. 14 was a studying second for the workforce heading into playoffs.
Although Marshall got here away with a sweep, Westby felt as if it wasn’t an amazing efficiency out of the workforce.
“That Windom match was a wake up call … We just felt like we did not play our best match and we went through the motions out there,” Westby mentioned. “[Assistant] coach [Alex] Boddy came into the locker room afterwards, and she made it known that’s not the way we operate. I think that was really a defining moment for our team.”
Marshall dropped simply eight units all through the whole season. Despite not being down typically on the scoreboard, the workforce nonetheless discovered methods to stay disciplined.
“I think our coaches did a really good job of motivating us every day, making sure that we’re staying competitive at practice,” Gillingham mentioned, to which Webb added that they went into apply centered and with the proper mentality. “They keep us very motivated. I feel like that’s one reason that coach Westby is such a good coach — It’s not only teaching the game of volleyball, but he just teaches you how to work hard. I feel like that’s one reason that he’s been very successful as a coach, and especially of this group, he’s taught us how to work hard and push each other, and not only just how to play volleyball.”
All whereas enjoying with a constant goal on their again with groups trying to upset the year-long top-ranked Tigers, loyalty is what it got here all the way down to in the future.
“It’s not for everybody. This is not for everybody, and it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to require some effort, commitment, hard work and dedication,” Westby mentioned. “Like we always say, you’re doing something and the result is unknown. You don’t know what’s going to happen in the end, but if you do the right things and you trust the process, we think that there’s going to be a positive at the end.”
And, simply that got here true as the Grand Casino Arena announcers made it identified as soon as the Tigers received the title.
“One of the things that we had talked about as coaches is, because this has happened to us before and we were hoping and it didn’t happen, at least not in front of us,” Westby mentioned. “This group has been collectively for therefore lengthy, we have been involved that when they obtained over there, they’d understand that is their final time collectively and there could be some emotion earlier than the sport even began.
“But this group, at least not in front of us as I mentioned, they didn’t do that, which was good because I had a speech prepared already if they had done that… Even after we lost that third set, they just quickly regrouped and got refocused, and we got off to a nice lead right there in that four set. It was good to see them handle the moment the way they did. Then after the match, there was all sorts of emotion, and that’s OK.”
A particular program with working custom
Marshall made its first state match look in 1977 beneath Ahmann, simply 4 years after Minnesota prep volleyball obtained its begin. Its first championship got here in 2004 in Westby’s first yr.
Since then, the relaxation has actually been historical past.
There have been various skills which have handed via the Marshall volleyball program, with dozens of faculty commitments and those that have etched their names in document books.
Marshall has earned 48 All-State alternatives and three Ms. Baden Volleyball Award finalists since the MNVBCA began asserting them in 1992. They’ve had extra seasons with three gamers chosen to an All-State workforce than they’ve had with out a choice since Westby took over in 2004, going with out a choice simply twice.
But past all, it turned a seamless custom for present gamers to make former groups proud with conserving the profitable tradition going.
“I think just seeing it as a younger little girl, like seeing all those 2000 teams … As a little girl, you always think, ‘Oh, I want to do that. I want to be that older girl for a younger girl,’” DeVos mentioned. “Being able to do that is really special.”
“They’re all such good players, and now we’re hoping he [Westby] can reference us in the future,” Webb added, incomes some laughs after the gamers mentioned Westby references the early groups typically.
Avery Fahl credited the program for its aggressive environment and the power that comes together with it, as did Gillingham noting different precious points the gamers take away.
“I feel like it [the program] teaches you a lot about life, too,” Gillingham mentioned. “The things that we’re taught in the volleyball program here, it’s so applicable to things outside of the volleyball court as well. It’s a lot of life lessons that are taught by coach Westby to us, coach Boddy and the other assistant coaches.”
When it involves establishing the future gamers to return via the program subsequent, Avery Fahl gave the recommendation of, “Give effort, always, and stay humble. You can always provide energy.”
“You have no limits. You can always push yourself harder, and you can always get better every single day,” Gillingham added. “Don’t take any practices for granted.”
It’s not simply the few years gamers spend on the volleyball squad that brings a bittersweet feeling to the finish of highschool careers, however it’s additionally the end result of rising up with the program. From collaborating in summer time camps, to rising into an all-around expert participant and particular person surrounded by the assist of coaches, and creating friendships that usually final a lifetime.
“That’s always funny because, and I’ve told him this I think, that it always breaks my heart when I see these guys as little kids, then all of a sudden I’ll see one of them wearing makeup and I realize they aren’t little kids anymore,” Westby mentioned emotionally, but laughing. “They’ve labored onerous and performed an excellent job.
“As I look around and as you were talking, I also see that each one of their parents has also worked hard. All 16 of your parents have worked hard. If we have a fundraiser or something, they’re all working, all of them. I think that says a lot, that they want you to do well also. It’s been fun. They’ve done a good job, they worked hard and they’re going to be missed. There’s no doubt about it, they’re going to be missed. But, time marches on, and hopefully the kids behind them have watched and observed what they’ve done, and they’re ready to step in and take their turn.”
While the street and outcomes of the 2025 season is not going to be forgotten, it’s the relationships that made the journey that rather more memorable and in the end led to the championship ending.
“We’ve all grown up through volleyball together, and we all really are each other’s best friends,” Kyah Pinckney mentioned. “We just all love each other. Getting to spend that time together every single day is honestly amazing.”