Before Monday, September 21, Minnesota high school volleyball and football seasons were supposed to take place in the spring amid Covid-19 concerns. But throughout the morning of September 21st, members of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) met to discuss their previous decisions of moving Volleyball and Football to the spring. After much debate and plenty of conversation prior to this long-awaited meeting, the members of the MSHSL decided to move the volleyball and football seasons to the fall, in doing so creating a modified season with fewer games and more restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19.
For volleyball, because it is an indoor sport, there will be no fans allowed in the gym, but for football, they are allowed to have a maximum of 250 fans in attendance. Sophomore Offensive lineman Max Ramsey 23′ says, “It was a bit of a surprise with everything that is going on right now with Covid-19, but the SMB coaching staff and Minnesota High School Football League put together an extremely responsible schedule and have put in place many restrictions to try and keep everyone safe. Although it feels a little rushed, myself and many others that I have talked to are excited for the restart.”
Before September 21, Minnesota was one of the few states that were not going to allow football to take place this fall, but now football is coming back and most players feel good about their safety, even if it is coming back a little sooner than was expected. SMB Wolfpack’s first game takes place on October 9 at 6:00 P.M. against Fridley at Fridley High School. Their first home game is on October 16 against the Mound Westonka White Hawks.
The volleyball team will also be in action this fall, and although fans will be unable to watch the games in person, fans will have the opportunity to watch the game through a live stream provided by Blake. Senior Captain Nikki Stabno ’21 says, “I wasn’t expecting the volleyball season to come back, but I am so excited to have it back in the fall. Even though we won’t have fans and things will be very different this year, I am excited to be able to play again, especially with my other seniors. Now that it’s back in the fall we don’t have to worry about our spring sports and we can focus on volleyball. I’m really excited for the season to start.”
The Blake girls volleyball team’s first game is at home against their rival Breck on October 9.
Although many athletes across both sports thought the change was unexpected, they are excited to compete in their respective sports and feel safe doing so.
