Here’s how the top volleyball teams fared in one of the state’s best invitationals

The top girls volleyball teams in Minnesota played under one roof last weekend, with the chance to test their skills against the best in a stacked field at Apple Valley’s Eagle Invitational.

The results shook up state rankings, voted on by the state coaches’ association.

The invitational included eight of the top 10 teams in Class 4A, plus the second and third-ranked teams in Class 3A. Those 16 teams accounted for the last 13 years of 4A and 3A state titles.

Here’s where they stood heading into this week:

Third try was the charm for Champlin Park. After losing to Lakeville North twice this season, the Rebels beat the No. 1 Panthers in three close sets after beating Class 3A, No. 2 Northfield, Bloomington Jefferson and No. 3 Lakeville South.

Champlin won the first set of the final before North took the second. But the Rebels came out strong in the third — “first to five points” was the key, Champlin Park senior Reese Axness said.

“In practice, after the first two losses against them, we’ve been super focused and been super intentional about what we’re doing, the types of shots we’re doing,” said Champlin Park senior Carly Gilk, a University of Minnesota volleyball commit.

Previously-undefeated Lakeville North suffered its first loss of the season against No. 2 Champlin Park in the invitational final.

“With Champlin Park, we’re not in the same section, we’re on opposite sides of the metro,” Lakeville North coach Jackie Richter said. “When we play, whether it’s a win or a loss, it’s really only a gain with the level of program, level of team and how we’re able to challenge each other.”

The Panthers beat Eden Prairie and Marshall, the No. 3-ranked team in 3A, to clinch a spot in Saturday’s four-team championship bracket. They edged out No. 4 Eagan, 2-1, before facing Champlin Park.

Lakeville South was the only top-10 4A team to keep its same ranking, beating Minnetonka and No. 7 East Ridge but losing to Champlin Park in the championship bracket semifinals.

In the third-place match, the Cougars beat No. 4 Eagan in two sets, helping the team reach its pre-established goal of finishing in the top three at the invitational, South head coach Steve Willingham said.

“We look at this tournament as sort of the midpoint,” Willingham said.

Eagan dropped one spot in the state rankings, passed by undefeated Rogers (14-0). Eagan handled Apple Valley and Chaska in two sets each, but couldn’t quite get past 4A’s top teams.

In the championship bracket semifinals, Eagan played Lakeville North to three sets, nearly knocking off the No. 1 team in a 16-14 tiebreaker. The loss pitted them against eventual third-place finisher Lakeville South.

The Lakers lost their first match to Northfield in three sets — their third time this season losing to the class 3A heavyweight. The Lakers bounced back with wins over Bloomington Jefferson and Moorhead to set up a final match against No. 10 Chaska, which Prior Lake lost in three sets.

The Raptors were the team on the outside looking in — of the champions bracket. Aside their one loss against Lakeville South, East Ridge beat Moorhead, Marshall and Northfield to place fifth at the invite. East Ridge had a 3-2 win over Prior Lake to start the season but dropped behind the Lakers in the latest polls.

Chaska was the biggest under-the-radar winner of the invite, beating two top-10 opponents (Prior Lake and Wayzata), plus Eden Prairie. The Hawks were able to avenge an early-season defeat by Prior Lake, and their only loss at the invite came against then-No. 4 Eagan in two sets.

Marshall hopped Northfield in the class 3A rankings, both still ranked behind undefeated Delano. Marshall split its matches Friday at the Eagle Invite, with a win over Stillwater in the opening round and loss to Lakeville North. The team defeated host Apple Valley in the consolation bracket, but lost to East Ridge in the fifth-place match to finish sixth.

Northfield also split its matches Friday, with a win over Prior Lake and loss to eventual invite champion Champlin Park (25-22, 25-23), and again on Saturday, with a loss to East Ridge and win over host Apple Valley to finish seventh in the consolation bracket.

Coming off a Thursday loss to New Prague, the defending 4A state champ Trojans opened the invitational with two losses, one to unranked Apple Valley (7-7) and the other to No. 10 Chaska.

“We have a few sophomores and juniors who have been on the team for about three years, a couple since eighth grade. They’re young, but they have a lot of experience,” Apple Valley head coach Hannah Specktor said. “That win was definitely a highlight for a lot of the senior and juniors who have seen a lot of tough matches over the year.”

Saturday swung better in Wayzata’s favor, with wins over Stillwater and Minnetonka.

“This group of kids, regardless of what we were in the past, has put a lot into volleyball,” coach Scott Jackson said. “We have really good chemistry. We just want to play more clean volleyball in every sense.”

View the invite’s full results here.