MSHSL falls one vote short of sanctioning boys volleyball

(ABC 6 News) — Last year, the MSHSL came two votes short of sanctioning boys volleyball; this time they came short again by one.

On Tuesday, the MSHSL’s Representative Assembly decided again not to approve the sport officially by a 31-17 vote. A 32nd vote would have ensured the opposite occurred. It is understandably a tough pill to swallow for the boys volleyball community as this affects five high school teams in Southeast Minnesota: Austin, Kasson-Mantorville, Mayo, Rochester Area and Winona.

MSHSL Executive Director Erich Martens spoke with reporters after the vote and explained that it isn’t that boys volleyball shouldn’t be official, but it’s whether schools are able to have room for another sport.

"There isn’t a school around that doesn’t want to add a next great experience for kids," Martens said. "At the same time, they recognize the challenge of resource and how many of these programs can they have. And I think what you was some level of question around how much room do we have and are we able to add this program at this time."