Bemidji’s 1st Ever Boys’ Varsity Volleyball Team Takes on Proctor/Hermantown

High school boys’ volleyball is currently in its final year as an MSHSL emerging sport before becoming a fully-governed interscholastic program. March 17, 2025 will be the official start date for its inaugural season, but earlier this spring, 85 teams were place in sections to perform what can be equated to a trial run.

Bemidji High School was one of those schools throwing their names into the hat and deciding to be one of those 85 teams. On Thursday, the Lumberjacks saw their first ever boys’ varsity volleyball team take the court at home against Proctor/Hermantown.

The game went to five sets, where Bemidji fell 3-2, but the loss didn’t dampen the mood for the Lumberjacks, who were grateful for the opportunity to represent Bemidji in boys’ volleyball for the first time in school history.

“It feels great, I mean, I’ve played for, I played for Grand Rapids the last two school seasons, but to finally play for Bemidji really feels amazing,” said junior captain Reed Johnson. “And then to be a captain on top of it is just, it’s awesome. It was amazing to see how many people came out. Like, I wasn’t expecting that many people to really show up, but it was it was awesome.”

“I wasn’t really expecting it, like at all,” admitted senior captain Ty White. “My whole high school, I’ve been trying to get the team here at Bemidji because I’ve been trying to play other places, like with Reed at Grand Rapids and just club. And now that it’s here and I’m the captain just caught me off guard and I’m excited for the season.”

The Lumberjacks will play Cloquet, Grand Rapids, and Proctor/Hermantown at least twice this season, as all four teams make up the Northern Minnesota conference. Playoffs this season will fall under the MN Boys High School Volleyball Association regulations.