On Thursday the second seeded Grand Rapids volleyball team upset top-seeded Cloquet winning the Section 7AAA title game in straight sets at Hermantown High School.

This is now the third year in a row Grand Rapids has beat Cloquet for the section title, but was the first time in that span the Thunderhawks were the underdogs.

Grand Rapids took set one 25-16, set two 25-22, and the final set 27-25 to win 3-0.

“It was a big deal to us, especially because earlier in the season Cloquet had swept us. So I think we had a lot more nerves going in. I think it was really good especially to take away that first set, come out super strong, and I think that just kind of gave us momentum from there,” senior setter Braya Laplant said.

“It’ll be our third year at State. The past two years, we’ve gotten fourth place. So their goal at the start of the season was to do better than fourth place. We’re on our way there,” head coach Bekah Sutherland said.

The Lumberjacks close out their season 25-3, which marks a school record for wins. Ava Carlson led Cloquet with 14 kills, 16 digs and two blocks.

Grand Rapids (20-9) now advances to the Class AAA girls volleyball state tournament, which begins Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.