No. 6 seed Braham opened the Section 5A East Subsection playoffs with a 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16 at No. 3 Cromwell Oct. 29. Maria Shockman led the Bombers with her court presence and finished with 9 kills. Joanna Hale had 16 digs, and Kayla White added 11 digs. Hannah Dahlman added 4 kills, and Kate Bendickson finished with 8 assists.

The win set up a GRC rematch with No. 2 seed East Central on Oct. 30, with the Eagles winning their third match of the year against  the Bombers in four: 16-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-15. Braham ends with a 6-18 overall record.

Shockman closed her Bomber v-ball career with 10 kills and 3 blocks against the Eagles. Dahlman (8 kills), Jesse Zierden (4 kills/2 blocks), and Becca Dahlman (3 kills) added production at the net. Bendickson and Kaitlyn Grell combined for 15 assists, and Hale had 10 more digs.

Top-seed Barnum knocked out East Central 3-1 in the pod finals Nov. 3. The undefeated Bombers will take on Nevis in the Nov. 5 East Subsection finals. Alive in the 5A West Subsection are two-time defending champs Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa and Bertha-Hewitt.

Bluejackets fall to Wildcats
The Section 7AAA Volleyball playoffs opened Oct. 28 with pigtail matches. No. 8 seed Chisago Lakes defeated No. 9 seed Cambridge-Isanti 25-17, 25-17, 25-19. The Bluejackets closed the season with a 10-16 overall record.

The Wildcats proceeded to fall to top-seed Andover 3-0 in the 7AAA quarterfinals Oct. 30. The Huskies face No. 4 seed Anoka in the Nov. 4 semifinals. No. 2 Forest Lake and No. 3 Duluth East play in the other semifinal match.