2022 Season History

2022 Season Historyadmin2022-07-28T10:33:38-05:00

2022 Teams

US Junior National Championships – June 27 – July 5, 2022

Northern Lights placed 4 of our 8 teams into the Gold Championship Brackets at the US Junior National Championships in Indianapolis, IN and medaled 2 of them. Northern Lights had 4 All Tournament player selections. Northern Lights had more teams finish in the top 10 than any other Minnesota club team! #MNLproud

4 Northern Lights All Tournament Selections

Player Name	Team
Reese Ptacek	Northern Lights 16-1
Gabby Wachholz	Northern Lights 17-1
Clara Brown	Northern Lights 17-Black
Sydney Carlson	Northern Lights 17-Black

Final Finishes

Team	Final Finish	Division
17-1	5th – Gold Bracket	17 National
17-2	27th	17 American
17-Black	3rd – Gold Bracket	17 Liberty
16-1	5th- Gold Bracket	16 National
16-2	13th	16 American
15-1	13th	15 Open
15-2	9th	15 American
14-1	3rd – Gold Bracket	14 National

AAU National Championships Trip (11s – 17s) | June 13 – 27, 2022

Northern Lights placed 14 of our 24 teams into the Gold Championship Brackets at the AAU National Championships and medaled 6 of them. Two teams were in their division finals, and NL teams won 1 Gold, 1 Silver, and 4 Bronze medals. NL had 15 AAU All Tournament selections.

Mizuno Northern Lights 12-1 placed 1st at
the AAU National Championships in the 12 Club Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 15-Red placed 2nd at
the AAU National Championships in the 15 Aspire Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 11-1 placed 3rd at
the AAU National Championships in the 11 Club Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 15-Black placed 3rd at
the AAU National Championships in the 15 Club Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 15-Zinc placed 3rd at
the AAU National Championships in the 15 Classic Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 17-Black placed 3rd at
the AAU National Championships in the 17 Club Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 14-1 placed 5th at
the AAU National Championships in the 14 Open Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 17-Red placed 5th at
the AAU National Championships in the 17 Aspire Division

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Mizuno Northern Lights 17-White placed 5th at
the AAU National Championships in the 17 Classic Division

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15 Northern Lights AAU All Tournament & MVP Selections

Player Name	Team
Brynlee Opland	Northern Lights 12-1
Lauren Schellhammer	Northern Lights 12-1
Gabrielle Weidemann – MVP	Northern Lights 12-1
Sidney Burley	Northern Lights 14-1
Teagan Jaynes	Northern Lights 15-Black
Katie Kelzenberg	Northern Lights 15-Black
Rowan Carr	Northern Lights 15-Red
Savannah Meyer	Northern Lights 15-Red
Paige Hansen	Northern Lights 15-Red
Jocelyn Herda	Northern Lights 15-Zinc
Annie Dahlheimer	Northern Lights 15-Zinc
Samantha Ball	Northern Lights 17-Black
Ellenor Crimmins	Northern Lights 17-Black
Ally Ball	Northern Lights 17-Red
Kaia Krocak	Northern Lights 17-White

Final Finishes

Team	Final Finish	Division
17-1	27th	17 Open
17-2	17th	17 Premier
17-Black	3rd – Gold Bracket	17 Club
17-Red	5th – Gold Bracket	17 Aspire
17-White	5th – Gold Bracket	17 Classic
16-1	9th – Gold Bracket	16 Open
16-2	25th	16 Premier
16-Black	27th	16 Club
16-Red	14th	16 Aspire
16-White	9th – Gold Bracket	16 Spirit
15-1	9th – Gold Bracket	15 Open
15-2	11th	15 Premier
15-Black	3rd – Gold Bracket	15 Club
15-Red	2nd – Gold Bracket	15 Aspire
15-White	41st	15 Spirit
15-Xenon	9th – Gold Bracket	15 Classic
15-Zinc	3rd – Gold Bracket	15 Classic
14-1	5th – Gold Bracket	14 Open
14-2	39th	14 Club
14-Black	51st	14 Aspire
13-1	9th – Gold Bracket	13 Premier
13-2	55th	13 Club
12-1	1st – Gold Bracket	12 Club
11-1	3rd – Gold Bracket	11 Club

Northern Lights 12-1 | 1st Place in 12 Club

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Northern Lights Banquet

The Banquet returned after a two year break! It was the largest banquet to date, rounding out at about 889 people in attendance. It was also the first year of the Marlon Johnson Award of Excellence (which replaces the Maurice Batie Award starting this year).

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Congratulations to our Northern Lights Coach, Elizabeth Larson, on receiving the Marlon Johnson Award of Coach Excellence! We appreciate you & your hard-work!

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Congratulations to our player, Kaija Kunze-Hoeg, on receiving the Marlon Johnson Award of Player Excellence! You are an amazing person, Kaija!

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Prep Dig Gauntlet 2022 | Milwaukee, WI

We had six teams compete in the first ever Prep Dig Gauntlet in Milwaukee, WI over Memorial Day Weekend! Our teams faced some great competition and three of our teams placed third in their divisions.

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14-1 placed 3rd in 14 Open

15-1 placed 3rd in 15 Open

15-2 placed 8th in 15 Open

16-1 placed 3rd in 16 Open

16-2 placed 9th in 16 Open

17-2 placed 7th in 17 Open

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Molten Cup 2022

A big congratulations to our teams that competed in the Molten Cup this past weekend. Northern Lights won 7 of the 11 divisions! That is more than any other club; we are so proud!

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13-Black placed 1st in 14 Aspire

14-2 placed 1st in 14 Premier

14-Red placed 1st in 14 Club

15-2 placed 1st in 16 Premier

15-Black placed 1st 15 Premier

15-Xenon placed 1st in 15 Club

17-White placed 1st in 17/18 Aspire

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16-2 placed 2nd in 17/18 Aspire

14-1 placed 3rd in 16 Premier

15-Red placed 3rd in 15 Premier

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Team 13-Black

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Team 14-2

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Team 14-Red

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Team 15-2

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Team 15-Black

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Team 15-Xenon

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Team 17-White

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MNL May Freebie

Mizuno Northern Lights had 9 teams participate in the MNL May Freebie. It was a fun tournament for our 10-1, 11-1, 11-2, 12-2, 12-Black, 13-Black, 13-Red, 14-Red, 14-white.

Northern Lights 15-Xenon placed 1st

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NL Annual Ice Cream Social

Our Annual Ice Cream Social Night was back for Season 2022! This fun night includes playing Queen of the Court, Zumba, and of course, ice cream! It is a night to dress up in funky outfits and hangout with multiple teams and coaches. Enjoy a few pictures capture from the Annual Ice Cream Social:

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AAU Super Regional

We had 19 of our teams compete in the AAU Super Regional on May 7th, 2022.

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MNL April Freebie

Mizuno Northern Lights had 22 teams participate in the 2022 MNL April Freebie!

Congratulations to our teams on their successful weekend:

Team	Finish	Division
10-1	6th	12 & Under
11-1	4th	12 & Under
11-2	7th	12 & Under
12-1	2nd	13’s / 14’s Division
12-2	11th	13’s / 14’s Division
12-Black	3rd	12 & Under
13-Black	5th	13’s / 14’s Division
13-Red	7th	13’s / 14’s Division
14-1	6th	15’s / 16’s Division
14-Red	17th	15’s / 16’s Division
14-White	1st	13’s / 14’s Division
15-Black	5th	15’s / 16’s Division
15-Red	4th	15’s / 16’s Division
15-White	3rd	15’s / 16’s Division
15-Xenon	9th	15’s / 16’s Division
15-Zinc	13th	15’s / 16’s Division
16-Black	2nd	15’s / 16’s Division
16-Red	1st	15’s / 16’s Division
16-White	8th	15’s / 16’s Division
17-Black	1st	17’s / 18’s Division
17-Red	<b2nd	17’s / 18’s Division
17-White	3rd	17’s / 18’s Division

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Northern Lights 14-White | 1st Place

Northern Lights 16-Red | 1st Place

Northern Lights 17-Black | 1st Place

Northern Lights 12-1 | 2nd Place

Northern Lights 16-Black | 2nd Place

Northern Lights 17-Red | 2nd Place

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Northeast Qualifier 2022

Our 15-1 team and 16-1 team competed in the Northeast Qualifier held in Philadelphia, PA.

The 15-1’s finished 13th in 15 Open

The 16-1’s finished 15th in 16 Open

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18’s USA Girls Junior National Championships 2022

Our 18-1’s traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to compete in the USA Girls Junior National Championships. Congratulations to our 18-2 team for going undefeated until the quarter finals and to Emma Slusser on receiving the All-American Award!

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Team	Finish	Division
18-1	21st	18 Open
18-2	5th	18 USA
18-Black	19th	18 Liberty

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MNL Challenge 2022

Final Finishes:

10-1 placed 7th in 12U

11-1 placed 2nd in 12U

11-2 placed 6th in 12U

12-2 placed 11th in 13/14U

12-Black placed 3rd in 12U

13-1 placed 7th in 15/16U

13-2 placed 1st in 13/14U

13-Black placed 6th in 13/14U

13-Red placed 15th in 13/14U

14-2 placed 3rd in 15/16U

14-Black placed 3rd in 13/14U

14-Red placed 4th in 13/14U

14-White placed 2nd in 13/14U

15-Red placed 4th in 17/18U

15-White placed 7th in 17/18U

15-Xenon placed 2nd in 15/16U

15-Zinc placed 5th in 15/16U

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13-2 | 1st place | 13/14’s Division

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11-1 | 2nd place | 12U Division

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14-White | 2nd place | 13/14’s Division

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15-Xenon | 2nd place | 15/16’s Division

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Show Me Qualifier 2022

Congratulations to our Northern Lights Teams that competed in the Show Me Qualifier at Kansas City, MO (Week 1 and 2)!

In Week One our 15-1, 15-2, 16’s and 17’s competed in the Qualifier. Congratulations to 16-Black and 16-Red on finishing 5th in their divisions. A big congratulations to our 15-1 team on placing 5th and securing a bid to the USA Girls Junior National Championships!

In Week Two, our 14-1 team and 15-Black team competed in the Qualifier.

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Team	Finish	Division
14-1	5th	14 Open
15-1	5th	15 Open
15-2	22nd	15 USA
15-Black	9th	15 Liberty
16-1	25th	16 Open
16-2	17th	16 USA
16-Black	5th	16 Liberty
16-Red	5th	16 American
16-White	33rd	16 American
17-1	11th	17 Open
17-2	19th	17 USA
17-Black	10th	17 USA
17-Red	9th	17 American
17-White	20th	17 American

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15-1 | 5th place in 15 Open | Bid secured!

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14-1 | 5th place in 14 Open

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Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier 2022 | Week 2

Northern Lights had 9 teams play in Week 2 of the 2022 Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier | 13’s & 14’s Divisions!

Final Finishes:

Team	Finish	Division
13-1	1st	13 USA
13-2	13th	13 Liberty
13-Black	11th	13 American
13-Red	19th	13 American
14-1	9th	14 Open
14-2	13th	14 USA
14-Black	11th	14 Liberty
14-Red	33rd	14 American
14-White	49th	14 American

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13-1 Team | 1st place in 13 USA

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Nike Mideast Qualifier 2022

Congratulations to our 18-Black team for placing 2nd in 18 Liberty at the Nike Mideast Qualifier 2022! As well as, congratulations to our 17-1 team for placing in the top five.

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Team	Finish	Division
17-1	5th	17 Open
18-1	15th	18 Open
18-2	25th	18 Open
18-Black	2nd	18 Liberty

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18-Black | 2nd place in 18 Liberty

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13th Annual Mizuno Northern Lights 12’s Cup

Six of our Northern Lights teams competed in the annual 12’s Cup tournament! Congratulations to our 12-1’s for placing 1st in the Open Division! And to our 12-Black team for placing 2nd in the Club Division!

Final Finishes:

10-1 placed 4th in 12 Classic

11-1 placed 7th in 12 Open

11-2 placed 3rd in 12 Classic

12-1 placed 1st in 12 Open

12-2 placed 3rd in 12 Open

12-Black placed 2nd in 12 Club

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12-1 | 1st Place in Open

12-Black | 2nd Place in Club

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Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier 2022 | Week 1

Northern Lights had 26 teams play in Week 1 of the 2022 Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier! On Championship Sunday, we had four teams competing in Gold and three of those teams competed in Championship Matches! We are so #MNLproud!

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Team	Place	Division
10-1	11th	11 National
11-1	7th	11 National
11-2	15th	11 National
12-1	5th	12 National
12-2	10th	12 American
12-Black	14th	12 American
15-1	4th	15 Open
15-2	5th	15 USA
15-Black	1st	15 Liberty
15-Red	3rd	15 American
15-White	34th	15 American
15-Xenon	18th	15 American
15-Zinc	27th	15 American
16-1	13th	16 Open
16-2	24th	16 USA
16-Black	2nd	16 Liberty
16-Red	21st	16 American
16-White	9th	16 American
17-1	7th	18 Elite
17-2	7th	17 Elite
17-Black	2nd	17 Elite
17-Red	8th	17 Elite
17-White	14th	17 Elite
18-1	2nd	18 Elite
18-2	5th	18 Elite
18-Black	9th	18 Elite

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15-Black | 1st Place

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NCR-USAV Regional Qualifier 2022

Congratulations to our teams that competed in the NCR-USAV Regional Qualifier 2022 and earned bids to the USAV Girls Junior National Championship 2022!

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14-1 placed 1st 🥇

15-1 placed 1st 🥇

15-2 placed 3rd 🥉

16-1 placed 1st 🥇

16-2 placed 4th

17-1 placed 2nd 🥈

17-2 placed 2nd 🥉

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NL 14-1 | 1st Place

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NL 15-1 | 1st Place

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NL 16-1 | 1st Place

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NL 17-1 | 2nd Place

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NL 15-2 | 3rd Place

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National Invitational Tournament (NIT 2022)

Our 15-1, 16-1, 17-1 and 18-1 teams traveled to Kansas City, Missouri for the NIT to compete against the best in the country.

Although our teams did not place in the top three in their divisions, it was a great experience.

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Omaha Presidents’ Day Classic 2022

Northern Lights sent 29 teams to Omaha, Nebraska for the 2022 ASICS Omaha Presidents’ Day tournament. Congratulations to the 4 teams that placed 1st in their division, the 2 teams that placed 2nd in their divisions, and the 6 teams that placed 3rd in their divisions. Thank you to the athletes, coaches, chaperones, and parents for a great weekend! Our teams SHOWED UP!

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Team	Place	Division
18-2	3rd	18 Open
18-Black	5th	18 Club
17-2	6th	17 Open
17-Black	1st	17 Club
17-Red	26th	17 Club
17-White	9th	17 Club
16-2	3rd	16 Open
16-Black	29th	16 Club
16-Red	3rd	16 Club
16-White	3rd	16 Select
15-2	3rd	15 Open
15-Black	13th	15 Club
15-Red	2nd	15 Select
15-White	1st	15 Select
15-Xenon	3rd	15 Select
15-Zinc	5th	15 Select
14-1	1st	14 Open
14-2	2nd	14 Club
14-Black	27th	14 Club
14-Red	9th	14 Select
14-White	15th	14 Select
13-1	1st	13 Open
13-2	19th	13 Club
13-Black	23rd	13 Club
13-Red	14th	13 Select
12-1	2nd	12 Open
12-2	2nd	12 Club
12-Black	7th	12 Select
11-1	14th	12 Club

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2022 Northstar Presidents’ Day Challenge

Congratulations to our 10-1 team for placing 1st place in the 12 Classic division and to our 11-2 team for placing 2nd in the 12 Classic division at the NorthStar Presidents’ Day Challenge! #MNLproud

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10-1 Team placed 1st in 12 Classic

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Our 10-1 Team & 11-2 Team celebrating together!

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Big City Luau 2022

We had 12 teams compete in the Big City Luau 2022, hosted by Kokoro Volleyball across the Twin Cities Metro Areas. Coming home with some fun trophies our 12-1 team and 12-Black team took 1st Place in their divisions!

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Final Finishes:

10-1 placed 4th in 12 Classic

11-1 placed 4th in 12 Club

11-2 placed 14th in 12 Aspire

12-1 placed 1st in 12 Premier

12-2 placed 9th in 12 Club

12-Black placed 1st in 12 Aspire

13-2 placed 4th in 13 Premier

13-Black placed 7th in 13 Club

13-Red placed 12th in 13 Club

14-Black placed 9th in 14 Premier

14-Red placed 2nd in 14 Pinnacle

14-White placed 2nd in 14 Club

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12-1 Team placed 1st in 12 Premier

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12-Black Team placed 1st in 12 Aspire

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14-Red Team placed 2nd in 14 Pinnacle

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14-White Team placed 2nd in 14 Club

2022 January Thaw and 17’s/18’s Mizuno Northern Lights National Qualifier

Congratulations to the 23 Northern Lights teams that participated in our annual January Thaw and the 17’s/18’s Northern Lights National Qualifier in Omaha! All three of our 18’s teams medaled and earned a bid to the USA Girls Junior Nationals in their divisions! Our 17-Black placed 2nd and earned a bid to Nationals, too! In the January Thaw, our 15-1 team placed 2nd in the 15 Club division! #MNLproud

Team	Place	Division
18-1	1st	18 Open
18-2	3rd	18 USA
18-Black	2nd	18 Liberty
17-1	18th	17 Open
17-2	9th	17 USA
17-Black	2nd	17 Liberty
17-Red	9th	17 American
17-White	5th	17 American
16-1	3rd	16 Club
16-2	8th	16 Club
16-Black	7th	16 Club
16-Red	9th	16 Club
16-White	11th	16 Club
15-1	2nd	15 Club
15-2	5th	15 Club
15-Black	5th	15 Club
15-Red	11th	15 Club
15-White	8th	15 Club
15-Xenon	15th	15 Club
15-Zinc	17th	15 Club
14-1	3rd	14 Club
14-2	5th	14 Club
13-1	6th	14 Club

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The 15-1 Team placed 2nd in the January Thaw

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The 18-2 team took 3rd in 18 USA and earned a bid to Nationals

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The 18-Black team took 2nd in 18 Liberty and earned a bid to Nationals

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The 18-1 team took 1st in 18 Open and earned a bid to Nationals

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The 17-Black team took 2nd in 18 17 Liberty and earned a bid to Nationals

2022 Kansas City MLK Qualifier

All three of our 18’s teams competed in the MLK Tournament in Kansas City and placed third in their divisions:

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18-1 team competed in 18 Open

18-2 team competed in 18 USA

18-Black team competed in 18 Liberty

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18-1 Team

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18-2 Team

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18-Black Team

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Congratulations 2021 All-State Players

Northern Lights would like to extend our congratulations to all of the High School Players in Minnesota who were selected for the MN Coaches Association All State teams. 17 players from Northern Lights were selected:

Class AAAA:

Britt Carlson | East Ridge

Camryn Greenwald | East Ridge

Julia Hanson | Prior Lake

Sienna Ifill | Eagan

Sydney Jaynes | Northfield

Kendall Kemp | Eagan

Maddie Lipetzky | Shakopee

Teagan Timperley | Northfield

Class AAA:

Maddie Converse | Kasson-Mantorville

Allison Elliott | Stewartville

Gabrielle Gartner | Byron

Class AA:

Samantha Ball | Nova Classical Academy

Jayna Bredenberg | Southwest Christian

Estelle Haugen | Southwest Christian

Ella Kiebel | Maple Lake

Kaija Kunze-Hoeg | Mounds Park Academy

Class A:

Gabby Wachholz | Mayer Lutheran

Congratulations to Julia Hanson, 2021 Ms. Baden Volleyball

Congratulations to Northern Lights player Julia Hanson on being named Ms. Baden Volleyball for 2021!

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Congratulations to Julia Hanson, 2021 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year

Congratulations to Northern Lights player Julia Hanson on being named the Star Tribune 2021 Metro Player of the Year!

Congrats All-Metro Players

Congratulations to our 9 Northern Lights players that made the 2021 Star Tribune All-Metro Volleyball Teams:

All-Metro Volleyball Team 2021:

Julia Hanson (Volleyball Metro Player of the Year)

Sienna Ifill

Kendall Kemp

Maddie Lipetzky

All-Metro Second Team 2021:

Abby Stanwood

Estelle Haugen

Camryn Greenwald

Simara Amador

All-Metro Third Team 2021:

Emma Berran