5 days ago
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Jan. 7—The Northern Lights Volleyball 16-1 club team spent the holidays traveling through Europe and competing in two tournaments abroad Dec. 25-Jan. 5.
The team won the 18U Youth Alpen Tournament in Innsbruck, Austria and took third place in the 19U SV Dynamo International Youth Tournament in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
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The 16-1 team out of Burnsville, Minn., is made up of players from high schools around the state, including Rochester Century's sophomore Laney Stellmaker. Other players on the roster attend Eagan, Prior Lake, St. Paul Academy, Lakeville North, East Ridge, Thomas Jefferson (Bloomington), Waconia and Chanhassen.
According to its website, the SV Dynamo tournament "guarantees three days of top-level volleyball with the best youth teams from the Netherlands and beyond. For many clubs, the youth tournament has been the ideal preparation for the Open Club (national championships for club teams). Foreign top youth teams see the tournament as a unique opportunity to measure their strength against European opponents."
The NLV 16-2 team also traveled and competed in the tournaments, finishing third in Apeldoorn and sixth in Innsbruck.
Players from both teams documented their travels with journals and videos.
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Stellmaker, an All-Big Nine selection, recorded 493 set assists, 200 kills, 313 digs, 61 ace serves and 20 blocks during her sophomore campaign with the Panthers. She also reached 1,000 career set assists during the 2025 season.
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