All-MN girls volleyball Player of the Year: Centennial’s Elena Hoecke

On one of volleyball’s biggest stages this summer, Centennial’s Elena Hoecke proved she was one of the best young middle blockers in the world.

At the under-21 world championship in Indonesia, the 6-3 senior ranked 12th in total blocks among all players.

Team USA’s ninth-place finish was impressive, but this was also the U-19 national team playing up.

“It was awesome and super fun,” said Hoecke, who is verbally committed to the Gophers. “The competition is great. You learn so much about volleyball but also about life being in a different part of the world.”

Hoecke went from having a strong presence at the net for Team USA to leading a young Centennial team to a top-10 Class 4A ranking and a spot in the state tournament for the first time since 2022.

Humble but hungry to establish herself among the elite players in her sport, Hoecke was named Strib Varsity’s 2025 All-Minnesota Player of the Year in girls volleyball.

“She deserves everything she’s been given,” Centennial coach Nicole Christensen said. “I’ve never seen an athlete work so hard, especially at her level and caliber.”

The Cougars started slow, posting an 11-7 record while adjusting to a new core, but all of their losses were to ranked opponents. Hoecke needed only a couple of matches to get comfortable before putting up big numbers.