Lake Stevens volleyball coach Kyle Hoglund talks to his team in the season opener against Curtis High School in Lake Stevens, Wash., on Sept. 11, 2024. Curtis won all three sets: 25-19, 25-20 and 25-18. (Taras McCurdie / The Herald)

LAKE STEVENS — It’s no secret that any high school athlete would want to win a state championship. Reaching the pinnacle after months, and in many cases years, of hard work is a self-gratifying feeling any high-level athlete dreams for themselves.

But for Lake Stevens volleyball, which perennially carries realistic state title aspirations, the players wanted to win the championship for more than just themselves. They wanted to win for their head coach, Kyle Hoglund.

Hoglund has been part of the Vikings program for nearly 20 years, and has led it for the past 10. As the program continually fell short of reaching the mountaintop over the past few years, the motivation to finally get it done centered primarily around the coach who put everything into helping his team get there.

“(Hoglund) deserves so much more than just a state championship,” said Laura Eichert, the Vikings’ star outside hitter who was recently named The Herald’s All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year. “He changed so many players’ lives for the positive that I just wanted, more than anything, to bring him home a state championship, just because of how special of an impact he’s made on everyone.”

If there was ever a year to finally get it done, it was 2025. Led by Eichert as well as four-year varsity players Olivia Gonzales and Kam Strom, Lake Stevens went undefeated in the regular season (excluding tournaments) and postseason, dropping just one set all year leading up to the championship match.

Facing the reigning 4A champions Curtis, who had eliminated them in the semifinals last year, the Vikings fell behind 2-0 before executing a thrilling comeback to secure the state title with a 3-2 victory. It was a Hollywood ending to a dream season.

But every theater-goer knows to stick around during the credits. In addition to winning his first state title as a head coach, Hoglund was selected as the Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association 2025 4A Coach of the Year.

“For the last 10 years being the head coach and only missing the state tournament because of COVID, it’s interesting to have the group of girls that keep coming in and want to perform and want to achieve at a high level,” Hoglund said. “And keep putting in the work, and keep trusting in the coaches, and we seem to get there every year. It’s an amazing ride every time.”

Prior to arriving at Lake Stevens, Hoglund was a player himself, but he got tendinitis in both knees while playing for Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif. Robbed of his ability to play, Hoglund turned to coaching. More than winning awards or championships, Hoglund said he got into it to serve as a positive role model for his players and show them “the right way of life.”

That said, winning is still very much the goal every season. As he molded the Lake Stevens program into his own, Hoglund constructed the pillars with life outside of high school sports in mind. One of the biggest hallmarks of the Hoglund-led Vikings is fitness. The conditioning Lake Stevens volleyball undergoes sounds like hyperbole. The highlights — or maybe ‘lowlights’ if you’re the one training — include doing 150 burpees as a warm-up during summer workouts, and mile-long runs up and down the bleachers of Vikings Stadium.

Like in life at large, there’s only so many things an athlete can control, and Hoglund views conditioning as a major one.

“I want these girls who really want to go and play at the next level that this is just a small sample of what it’s really like,” Hoglund said. “I’ve had former players call and say, ‘thank you’ for what we’ve done, because now they understand and move on. We have players now after winning state, they realize that the conditioning matters, and it’s tough. There’s few controllables you can control in the world. For an athlete, one of them is how you can condition, how much you can be in there, and so why not make sure that is something that is taken care of?

“So we do a great job with that. … We maybe even run more than our own soccer team here at school does, but a lot of that is getting the mind to tell the body what to do.”

The other big hallmark comes from building a strong mental foundation. The team conducts a summer book club reading materials about mental toughness, and the players will write in journals throughout the season to help stay in tune with the mental side of the game. The journaling started when Hoglund was an assistant under Amy Wiklund, but has since developed into an integral process.

Encouraged to put their thoughts and feelings into words, the players and coaches establish a better level of understanding with each other. There may be moments where Hoglund realizes he has to give a player some grace if she is going through a tough time, and other moments where he can push harder to help players reach goals they set out to achieve. With more understanding and connection, the team thrived.

“Going up to our state championship game was a fairly easy road, in some respects, but you saw that what we did at the state tournament wasn’t easy,” Hoglund said. “The championship was not an easy way to win, but the girls never wavered on themselves. They cared about each other, trusted each other, and a lot of that goes back to what we do during the summer and all year long.”

Even before the results justified the process, it fully resonated with the players.

“(Hoglund) is probably the most mentally aware person you can ever meet,” Gonzales said. “He will always ask you how your day is. You can tell he genuinely cares, and it really has an effect on the team chemistry, because everyone just feels so much closer because we’re so vulnerable with each other all the time. And that was like a huge part in winning, is that we were really trying to ‘out-team’ their team because we just had so much love for each other.”

More than ever, the 2025 Lake Stevens volleyball team represented a strong group, both mentally and physically. Hoglund described this year as a “drama-free” season, which he said is not often the case. As much as he helped each player grow on and off the court, this year’s team helped him as a coach with working on the “finer details” of the game.

As the weeks since winning the championship pass, and the offseason burpees and bleacher miles come nearer, it will become harder for Hoglund to turn the page. The program will graduate six seniors, including Eichert, Gonzales and Strom, which will mark the end of an era and task Hoglund with building up a new one. But Hoglund will cross that bridge when he gets there.

“I don’t even know if I’ve really thought about (next year) yet,” Hoglund said. “I’m still trying to enjoy the moment.”

After winning a state title and Coach of the Year, why wouldn’t he?

Gallery

Editor’s note: This is the third in a four-part series highlighting the year that was in area prep sports. In part three, The Forum takes a look back at the most memorable prep sports moments that occurred from July through September.

FARGO — Part two of our Forum Flashback series highlighted 2025’s most memorable moments in area prep sports from the months April through June.

On to part three, where we’ll glance at more noteworthy items that took place in preps from July through September this year. Let’s roll.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

The USA Wrestling Junior Nationals returned to the Fargodome and brought thousands of wrestlers from across the country to the metro.

David Samson/The Forum

Moorhead’s Taye Reich and West Fargo Horace’s Cason Borchardt were each selected to represent the Midwest at the USA Baseball 16U National Team Identification Series Championship Cup in North Carolina the next month.

Borchardt later committed to NCAA Division I Oregon in September. Reich remains uncommitted and undecided on a future in baseball or football.

US Youth Soccer

The future is bright for girls soccer in North Dakota and western Minnesota as the Dakota Fusion 15U girls soccer team took gold at the US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup finals in Tampa, Florida.

The Fusion defeated the Whatcom FC Rangers (Washington) 3-0 in the title match with Grand Forks Red River’s Taylor Hodny recording two goals.

It was reported in July that Fargo Post 2’s Jack Williams Stadium would also undergo a $500,000 renovation to begin in the fall.

The project entails some new grandstand seating, new standing-room areas and reinforcement of the existing backstop wall.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

The Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Post 397 American Legion baseball team put up 16 runs and toppled Warroad 16-1 in five innings to win the Minnesota Division II Senior Northwest Sub-State tournament and punch their ticket to state.

DGF was tasked with beating Warroad twice in the double-elimination final, having put up 16 runs in the first game as well.

David Samson / The Forum

The West Fargo Horace trap shooting team ventured to Michigan in July to compete in the USA High School Clay Target League National Championship.

The Hawks were one of 260 high school teams from across the country to qualify for the team event. Team members consisted of Eli Janes, Garrett Hogfoss, Colten Johnston, Elijah Pollert and Ryder Stoutland.

Anna Paige / The Forum

High school and youth wrestlers got a WrestleMania treatment of sorts when West Fargo Sheyenne hosted its second annual Stampede at the Stable outdoor tournament.

More than 360 wrestlers from across the region took part in the 12-mat tourney, which took place beneath the lights at Sheyenne’s football stadium.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

With their backs against the wall, the West Fargo Patriots beat Fargo Post 400 twice in the double-elimination championship final to claim the North Dakota Class 2A American Legion title for the second year in a row.

The Patriots defeated the Stars 4-0 in Game 1 before clinching the repeat with a 6-1 decision in the winner-take-all Game 2.

Both teams went on to represent North Dakota at the Central Plains Regional tournament, with West Fargo advancing to the final before falling to Lincoln East.

David Samson / The Forum

Off of their first-ever state title in March, members of the Moorhead boys hockey team were presented with their championship rings at a ceremony in August.

The rings featured the signature Moorhead “M” inside two circles with “Moorhead Hockey” and “State Champions” above and below. On the side it read “Spuds” and on the band read “Worth the wait.”

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

The West Fargo Sheyenne girls golf team capped an unbeaten season with a record-low two-day total of 14-over 302 to claim their first-ever North Dakota Class A team state championship.

Individually, the Mustangs’ Zoe Keene rallied from four shots down entering the final day and edged out Fargo Davies’ Rose Solberg in a two-hole playoff to secure individual medalist honors at the Fargo Country Club.

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

The inaugural Landon’s Light Outdoor Volleyball Invitational was held at The Lights in West Fargo in September.

Eight metro high school teams took to the floor in support of the Landon’s Light Foundation in a spectacle organizers said they hope to host annually and expand.

PARK RAPIDS – It took some time for the Park Rapids volleyball team to click as a unit.

With the entire team taking on new roles, the Panthers opened the season with a 2-16 record. Park Rapids played its best volleyball down the stretch, finishing the regular season with a 4-5 mark for a 6-22 overall record.

“Overall, I felt the season was a success despite the win-loss record,” said Park Rapids head coach Alicia Dennis. “We faced a tough schedule in a strong conference, and given the circumstances, the team’s growth and effort were significant.”

Having to replace five starters from last season while having three regulars see varsity minutes for the first time resulted in six losses to open the season. After dropping a five-setter to Nevis (25-23, 25-23, 25-27, 22-25, 15-10), the Panthers were swept by Park Christian (25-13, 25-22, 25-9), Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (25-17, 25-18, 25-7), Wadena-Deer Creek (25-19, 25-10, 25-21) and Breckenridge (25-23, 25-14, 25-11).

After a loss to Lake Park-Audubon (25-16, 16-25, 3-1) to open the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Invitational, Park Rapids defeated Warroad (25-14, 25-21) before dropping matches to Blackduck (25-22, 25-21), Sacred Heart (25-13, 25-13) and Menahga (22-25, 25-20, 15-9) for a 1-4 record in the tournament.

Losses to Sebeka (25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 32-30) and Pelican Rapids (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18) followed before the Panthers swept Menahga (25-20, 25-19, 25-15). A five-match losing streak followed, beginning with losses to Frazee (25-23, 25-14, 25-15), Hawley (25-15, 25-18, 25-23) and Thief River Falls (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-21).

At the Perham Invitational, the Panthers opened with losses to Henning (25-20, 26-24) and Kittson County Central (25-13, 25-12) before closing with wins over Staples-Motley (25-19, 17-25, 15-8) and Underwood (25-22, 25-11).

After another win over Staples-Motley (23-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13), the Panthers dropped matches to Perham (25-17, 25-19, 25-22) and Barnesville (25-18, 25-12, 25-22) before opening the Fergus Falls Blocktoberfest Invitational with a loss to Fergus Falls (25-13, 25-21). Park Rapids followed a win over Lake of the Woods (25-8, 25-11) with losses to Detroit Lakes (22-25, 25-16, 18-16) and Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (25-14, 25-19) to close out that tournament and the regular season.

Park Rapids tied Pelican Rapids and Staples-Motley for last place in the HOL standings at 1-7. Hawley won the conference title with an 8-0 record with D-G-F (7-1), Perham (6-2), Frazee (4-4), Barnesville (4-4) and Breckenridge (4-4) following. Hawley defeated W-DC for the section title and went on to repeat as the state Class AA champions.

Going 2-8 against Section 8AA teams gave Park Rapids the No. 11 seed for the section tournament. No. 6 Wadena-Deer Creek ended the Panthers season with a sweep (25-13, 25-9, 25-21) in the first round.

Vance Carlson / Enterprise

In 27 matches (stats from the Menahga match at the W-H-A Invitational were not available), the Panthers served 143 aces with 139 service errors and had 726 kills with 514 attack errors while making 183 errors on serve receive. The opposition had 818 kills with 403 hitting mistakes and 182 service aces with 127 service errors while making 143 errors on serve receive.

Leading the Panthers this season were seniors Maggie Huber, Macey Jalbert, Natalie Weiss and Allie Michaelson; juniors Anna Rickbeil and Adrienne Cook; sophomore Olivia Budzien; and freshmen Ryann Hagen and Mckenzie Brady-Baso.

Huber led the team with 315 set assists and was third with 228 digs and 20 blocks. Huber put 294 of 301 serves in play with 22 aces and had 133 kills in 27 matches.

Jalbert posted a team high in kills with 180, tied for second with 32 ace serves, and was second with 232 digs and 160 set assists while adding 22 blocks. Jalbert put 206 of 231 serves in play in 27 matches.

Michaelson was the team leader with 26 blocks while finishing second with 155 kills. Michaelson put 72 of 80 serves in play with 10 aces and had 79 digs in 27 matches.

In 27 matches, Weiss contributed 58 kills, 17 ace serves and 124 digs while putting 170 of 180 serves in play.

Rickbeil, who was the starting libero last season, shared the team lead with 82 ace serves while putting 184 of 209 serves in play. Rickbeil also had 53 kills and 169 digs in 27 matches.

Cook also played in all 27 matches and went 196 for 203 in serves with 18 aces while chipping in 85 kills and 145 digs.

Contributed / Caulfield Studio

Hagen led the Panthers with 239 digs and put 161 of 186 serves in play in 27 matches. Brady-Baso was second with 23 blocks and had 32 kills and 26 digs in 25 matches. Budzien pounded down 21 kills and had 21 blocks in 22 matches.

Sophomores Maddison Shepherd (three matches); freshmen Ella Carroll (four matches), Kenzie Strasburg (seven matches) and Clara Kimball (seven matches); and eighth grader Harper Fogarty (one match) also saw some varsity time.

Huber was named to the all-conference team while Jalbert received all-conference honorable mention honors. Huber, Jalbert and Michaelson received all-state academic honors as the team received an all-state Gold Award. Team awards went to Huber (Panther of the Year), Jalbert (Iron Heart Award), Weiss (Paragon Award), Cook (Most Valuable Teammate), Michaelson (Cornerstone Award) and Hagen (Rising Star Award).

The Panthers will look to replace the four seniors in hopes of improving in the conference and section standings next season.

“With nearly every player stepping into a new role or varsity position for the first time, the improvement from the start of the season to the end was clear,” said Dennis. “The season was also defined by a group of seniors who understood the expectations, showed up ready to work, held themselves accountable, and helped spark a meaningful culture shift. I am grateful for their leadership and the foundation they helped build. This is a young team with talent and grit, and many players are beginning to realize they want more and are motivated for next season.”

The Moore League made itself at home at the LBCC Sand Courts, with three of the league’s teams competing for a CIF-SS title last May.

First up, it was Long Beach Poly taking on Canyon for the Division 3 title, and the Jackrabbits trailed 2-1, putting their backs against the wall in the remaining two matches. After getting the match tied, it all came down to Simone Millsap and Alyssa Luna’s result on Court 4.

The Jackrabbit duo survived multiple match points with everyone looking on and surrounding their court, eventually pulling out a 17-15 win to claim the gold plaque.

“When you have your people cheering you on it is easy to feel motivated and secure,” said Luna.

In the next match, Wilson and Millikan rematched for the third time for the Division 2 title, with the Bruins battling their way to a 3-2 victory and a CIF crown.

After the teams split the first two results, Wilson won on Court 1 thanks to Moore League pairs champions Simrin Adams and Sadie Calderone, who rebounded after losing their opening set.

The match was decided on Court 4, where the Wilson duo of Iyla Alvarado and Jane Morrison won their third set, 15-11, to improve to 14-0 on the season and start the Bruins’ championship celebration.

“It was just, who has the better mentality?” Alvarado said. “Whoever has the better mentality is gonna win, so it was all about keeping our head up.”

The last time two Moore League schools faced off for a CIF title was back on Feb. 29, 2008, when Long Beach Poly’s girls’ basketball team defeated Millikan at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.