MAYER – A state tournament appearance for a high school athlete is a special moment. Some say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
While that might be true, that’s not the case for Mayer Lutheran’s Olivia Tjernagel. In her first two seasons of high school volleyball, Tjernagel already has two state titles on her resumé. After losing nine seniors from last year’s state championship team, Tjernagel and the Mayer Lutheran volleyball team are back once again, looking to defend their crown for a third-straight season.
“I’ve never had an athlete who’s had the opportunity to have two already and a chance for more,” Mayer Lutheran coach Joelle Grimsley said. “For her, I think it’s always in the back of her mind, yet, she’s a humble player and really knows she would not be where she’s at without the other girls.”
It hasn’t been an easy road back to the state tournament for Tjernagel and the Crusaders. They started the season with three-straight losses, including letting a 2-0 lead against rival Watertown-Mayer slip away.
After a slow start to the season, the Crusaders began to find their way, and Tjernagel has been a big reason for it. With just one senior on this year’s roster, Tjernagel has been thrown into a leadership role this season, something that’s new to her, compared to her last two seasons.
“With only having one senior, it’s been kind of hard,” Tjernagel said. “I’ve stepped up a lot just from last year. I’ve had all the seniors to look up to, and now I’m the one that the girls look up to for positive encouragement. I feel like I’ve stepped that up a lot.”
The emergence of leadership from Tjernagel hasn’t been lost on her coach either.
“Really well,” Grimsley said about how Tjernagel has handled being a leader. “I think at first it was a little more difficult. She’s really stepped into that just through her play and actions.”
While playing on the floor of the Xcel Energy Center will be nothing new for Tjernagel, this year will be a bit different. It’s a new group of girls and she’s ready to go out and defend their title with a new core around her.
“I’m so excited,” Tjernagel said. “Nobody really thought we’d make it this far. Now, we have. It’s just really exciting to let all those other girls have that chance at state and get to play.”
Tjernagel has been a staple for the Crusaders the past two seasons. At 6-foot-1, Tjernagel presents a nightmare matchup for opposing teams at the net. Heading into the state tournament, Tjernagel has recorded 353 kills to go along with 139 total blocks this season. While her size and 36-inch vertical certainly help, it’s the hard work she puts in that makes her really stand out.
“She’s gifted because of her body type, first of all,” Grimsley said. “A lot of that is genetics and so forth, but she works hard in the offseason. She’s a two-sport athlete. She continues to work hard and goes to camps and all those types of things. She’ll get a lot better as she gets stronger, too. She’s got to grow into that 6-foot-1 body.”
Tjernagel has already verbally committed to the University of Northern Iowa to continue her volleyball career. While her college choice is taken care of for the meantime, that’s allowed her to be the go-to hitter for the Crusaders in the clutch all season long.
“A lot of times I just say give it Liv if she’s up in the front row,” Grimsley said. “What’s kind of neat, is the other kids know that. They know where we need to get the ball, and they just do what I tell them as far as that goes.”
While not many people expected Mayer Lutheran to be back at the state tournament this year after being hit hard by graduation, the Crusaders aren’t just satisfied to be there again. As the No. 2 seed in Class A, Mayer Lutheran is battle-tested and ready to attempt a three-peat as state champions while enjoying the moment.
“It’s once in a lifetime and a great experience,” Tjernagel said. “Just getting to go there is so much fun. You just have to enjoy it while you’re there. It’s so fun. It’s just a bunch of team bonding and you get to know each other even more than you already have throughout the season. It’s so much fun.”