The top-ranked Minnesota girls volleyball teams have remained the same all year in two classes, with Hawley in Class 2A and Marshall in 3A holding the top spots from start to finish of the regular season.

But that doesn’t mean any of the top seeds are safe in the playoffs. When the dust of section playoffs has settled, will upsets affect the state tournament brackets this fall?

Here is some top section competition to keep an eye on in each class.

Class 4A: Section 1

A year ago, Lakeville South was favored against Lakeville North when the rivals faced off in the Section 1 championship at Mayo Civic Center.

The Cougars had lost only to Champlin Park all season, but they ended up barely escaping the Panthers with a 20-18 victory in the fifth set. That section title eventually propelled Lakeville South to its first state championship behind such standouts as Romi Chlebecek, Kaelyn Bjorklund and Elle Utecht, who all are back this year.

Ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, Lakeville South (25-3) is the favorite to win its section again. Lakeville North (19-8) enters the postseason with five losses in the past seven matches, but the Panthers, led by Creighton commit Rayna Christianson, split matches against Lakeville South in the regular season.

Section 2 is another to watch. Top-seeded Chanhassen (23-4) is trying to reach its first state tournament, but second seed Prior Lake (18-10) or third seed Minnetonka (21-7) could be a tough matchup in the final.

Class 3A: Section 6

Delano ended a decade-long state tournament drought by winning berths the past two seasons. The Tigers were 31-0 and the No. 1 seed last season before finishing third.

Their path back to state in 2025 might not be as smooth. They are 27-2 and ranked second in Class 3A, but No. 3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s (23-5) is on the other side of the section tournament bracket.

Delano swept Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the regular season, but the second meeting between them, on Oct. 6, went to five sets.

Class 2A: Section 6

Albany went 20 years between state tournament appearances before making it last season. It was no fluke. and a veteran group returning from that 30-3 season didn’t disappoint with the encore. The Huskies are ranked No. 2 in Class 2A with a 24-3 record and 14-match win streak entering section play.

But they aren’t the No. 1 seed in the section.

That distinction belongs to 25-0 Minnewaska, which has never made it to state. After being projected as the lowest seed in the section in the preseason, the Lakers went unbeaten in the regular season, including a win vs. defending state champion Hawley in the Blocktoberfest tournament championship last week.

Class 1A: Section 3

The best team in Class 1A for most of the season, Minneota (23-6) didn’t fall from the top spot in the coaches poll until defending champion Mayer Lutheran took over in the last few weeks.

The Vikings, who won state titles in 2018, ’19 and ’22 and finished second last season, face by far the toughest section lineup in the state.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (No. 3), Canby (No. 5) and MACCRAY (No. 8) were all ranked in the top 10 in the final regular-season poll. Minneota lost to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and Canby this season.