East Grand Forks program, Lanee Hams reach new ground ahead of state tournament

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald By Tom Miller Today at 11:27 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? EAST GRAND FORKS — The East Grand Forks Senior High volleyball program is in new territory. For starters, Senior High volleyball coach Paula Devine is in her 32nd season as head coach of the Green Wave. She'll be taking her team to the Minnesota Class AA state tournament in St. Paul for the first time this weekend. ADVERTISEMENT In addition, junior hitter Lanee Hams has been honored as an all-state selection — the first East Grand Forks player to achieve that status in 53 years of Green Wave volleyball. East Grand Forks will try to keep breaking new ground on Thursday when the No. 8 seed Green Wave (22-10) meet No. 1 New Life Academy of Woodbury (26-1) in the state quarterfinals at 1 p.m. in St. Paul at Grand Casino Arena, formerly known as the Xcel Energy Center. Devine, who has had two stints as head coach of the Wave dating back to 1987, has been to four section championships before breaking through last Saturday. She said this year's group is taller with better jumping ability than previous teams. "A lot of it is we're very athletic," Devine said. Green Wave leaders Kills: Lanee Hams 368, Sydney McDonald 260, Brooke Hecht 123, CoCo Williams 117, Camille Julien 105, Hayden Berg 77 Digs: Kelsey Spilde 534, Emma Pieper 228, Kayla Carpenter 214, Berg 209, McDonald 206 Assists: Berg 836, Pieper 75 Aces: Spilde 42, Pieper 33, McDonald 31, Berg 24, Carpenter 23, Hams 20, Taylee Ganssle 13 Hams has made the transition from beginner to all-state player. Previously a soccer player, Hams started playing volleyball in high school. "When she started in ninth grade, she didn't have a clue what to do," Devine said. Hams has 368 kills this season. Her 145 total blocks are the most of anyone in Minnesota whose team enters statistics into the MaxPreps website. Nationally, she ranks No. 66 on MaxPreps. ADVERTISEMENT "Timing and instincts," Devine said of Hams' blocking prowess. "Against Thief River Falls (in the section semifinals), she had a play where she blocked three times. She blocked left, then again and then moved over and put it down. Most people don't get up and down that fast. It's pretty natural for her." In addition to Hams, fellow junior Sydney McDonald has 260 kills while senior Brooke Hecht has 123 and senior CoCo Williams has 117. Freshman Camille Julien, who spent two-thirds of the season playing junior varsity, has 105 kills on the year as she's emerged during the postseason run. "(Julien) is a 5-8 kid, but she jumps well," Devine said. "People think she's not that tall, then she jumps ... she keeps going and you don't." Defensively, the Wave are led by Kelsey Spilde, who has 534 digs and a team-high 42 service aces. East Grand Forks' setting has been handled by senior Hayden Berg, who has 836 assists and 24 aces. The Wave carry the No. 8 seed but take some confidence into state with northwest Minnesota's recent success at the state tournament. Hawley is the two-time defending AA state champions. "There's good volleyball in the north country in Section 8," Devine said. More Green Wave news East Grand Forks volleyball sweeps Barnesville to punch ticket to state for first time in program history 2d ago East Grand Forks freshman powers Green Wave past Thief River Falls in section semifinals 5d ago Perham ends East Grand Forks' season in Section 8AAA semifinals Oct 31 East Grand Forks outlasts Wadena-Deer Creek in 8AA quarterfinal five set thriller Oct 30 GGF playoff preview: EGF's Chay Boespflug goes from soccer to football playmaker Oct 29 East Grand Forks forces six turnovers to roll past Park Rapids in section quarterfinals Oct 27 Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags EAST GRAND FORKS GREEN WAVE GIRLS VOLLEYBALL By Tom Miller Miller has covered sports at the Grand Forks Herald since 2004 and was the state sportswriter of the year in 2019 (NSMA, NDAPSSA), 2022 (NSMA, NDAPSSA), 2024 (NDAPSSA) and 2025 (NDAPSSA). His primary beat is UND football but also reports on a variety of UND sports and local preps. He can be reached at (701) 780-1121, [email protected] or on Twitter at @tommillergf. 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