HERMANTOWN — Grand Rapids spent several years as the dominant volleyball program in Section 7AAA, until it wasn’t.

However the 2025 Thunderhawks quickly filled that void, outplaying top-seeded Princeton and returning to the state tournament for the fourth time in five years with a 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-14) victory in the section final at Hermantown High School on Thursday night.

“I could not be more proud of this team. We have a really young team, we worked so hard to get here. Everybody put in the work and it paid off,” said Rapids senior middle Lainie Barrick.

Barrick had as much experience in this situation as anyone on the floor, as she had eight blocks in a major role when the Thunderhawks, playing as the third seed like they were Thursday, defeated a No. 1 seed (in that cas

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