SoDak 16 pairings set after Warner, Groton, Roncalli advance

GROTON — It was another sluggish start for the top seed in the Region 1A high school volleyball tournament.

But in the end, it was also another win.

Groton’s balanced attack proved too much for Sisseton as the Tigers advanced to the SoDak 16 with a 30-28, 25-15, 25-14 sweep of Sisseton on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Aberdeen Roncalli and Warner also advanced to the SoDak 16, while perennial Class B power Northwestern, hindered by an illness to a top player, saw its season end unusually early.

Groton’s balance overcomes Sisseton’s height

“It’s a total relief to advance,” said Groton head coach Chelsea Hanson. “We told our girls last week to focus on the next match. Just focus on Tuesday, then Thursday, don’t look at anything else.”

The Tigers finished with 44 kills, getting 12 from Rylee Dunker, 10 from Chesney Weber and nine from Sydney Leicht.

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“It’s awesome to have that (balance), and it’s been saving us all season,” Hanson said. “On Tuesday against Wilmot, our seniors carried us and tonight it was our underclassmen. There’s no jealousy, no drama. They just know they all get to ride the bus to the (state) tournament if we get there.”

That will take one more victory.

Serving proved to be a major advantage for Groton Thursday. The Tigers finished with eight aces, and were able to throw off Sisseton’s return game, which slowed down sisters Chloe Langager and Krista Langager, both of whom are at least 6-feet tall.

“Against Sisseton, with the height they have in the middle, out-of-system worked for us. I told our girls to force them to have somebody else hit the ball. We can’t have them running quick offense where (the Langager sisters) can get it to and they just kill it. Serving was big for us tonight, no question,” Hanson said.

Groton improves to 20-4 and is the No. 3 seed in the SoDak 16. The Tigers face No. 11 Lennox.

No.1 Groton (20-5) def. No. 4 Sisseton (12-16), 30-28 , 25-14, 25-14.

Serving: GA 74-78, 8 aces (Jaedyn Penning 13-15, 4 aces; Chesney Weber 20-20, 2 aces).

Hitting: GA 125-143, 44 kills (Rylee Dunker 19-24, 12 kills; Weber 25-27, 10 kills).

Setting: GA 42 assists (Liz Fliehs 38 assists).

Digs: GA 73 (Anna Fjeldheim 15; Carly Guthmiller 13).

Blocks: GA 4 (Emma Kutter 1 solo, 2 assists).

Cavs sweeps Milbank, face Dakota Valley for spot in A tourney

Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive.

That’s how Roncalli head coach Mandy Smid described the play by her squad as the second-seeded Cavaliers knocked off No. 3 Milbank 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 in Region 1A play Thursday to advance to the SoDak 16.

“Anytime you can continue to play it’s very satisfying,” she said. “It’s nice to not go into a locker room and see the tears because the season is over. This is where we want to be. We had some tough matches earlier in the year that led to some doubters, but we’re one of the last 16 teams in the state to keep playing.”

There was a scary moment for the Cavaliers early in the second set when middle hitter Ava Hanson landed awkwardly on a block attempt and left for the rest of the set with an ankle injury. But she returned in the third set, finishing with nine kills.

“It was a minor injury, she was OK, she walked it off for a bit and got back in the lineup. It was just very humbling for me to see our girls standing in the huddle not panicking over arguably our best hitter going down and just carrying on like business as usual,” Smid said.

McKenna O’Keefe responded for Roncalli, going 23 of 25 on the attack with a team-high 11 kills.

“McKenna was guns a-blazin’ tonight, for sure,” Smid said. “When we can get some of our hitting spread out a little and get some points from other places, it really makes it hard for teams to defend. I really do think this is a confidence booster that we were able to do some good things, aggressive things, against some aggressive plays by (Milbank).”

Roncalli enters the SoDak 16 as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 12 Dakota Valley.

No. 2 Roncalli (20-5) def. Milbank (20-12) 25-18, 25-14, 25-19

Serving: MIL 1 ace (Addisyn Krause 1 ace); AR 60-69, 5 aces (Faith Danielson 10-10, 1 ace; McKenna O’Keefe 12-13, 1 ace).

Hitting: MIL 23 kills (Rachel Schulte 8 kills, Skylar Skoog 6 kills); AR 112-125, 41 kills (O’Keefe 23-25, 11 kills; Ava Hanson 16-17, 9 kills).

Setting: MIL 20 assists (Krause 12 assists); AR 99-99, 40 assists (Maddie Huber 52-52, 17 assists; Danielson 47-47, 20 assists).

Digs: MIL 52 (Skoog 13 digs; Ella Sandvig 13 assists); AR 72 (Camryn Bain 18 digs; Huber 16 digs).

Blocks: MIL 2 block assists (Schulte 1; Clare Snaza 1); AR 4 block assists (Jaidyn Feickert 1; Huber 1; Hanson 1; Rylee Voeller 1).

Top-seeded Monarchs roll past Leola/Frederick

Top-seeded Warner had no problem in its Region 1B match with Leola/Frederick Thursday, sweeping the Titans 25-9, 25-10, 25-5 to earn a spot in the SoDak 16. The game was in Warner.

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The Monarchs dominated the service line, registering 12 aces while committing just three errors on 70 of 73 attempts. Kyra Marcuson led the way going 21 of 21 on serves with six aces. Ava Nilsson added three aces.

Kyleigh Schopp went 20 for 20 on attack attempts to finish with a match-high 14 kills. Kyra Marcuson and Lauren Marcuson finished with 11 kills apiece.

Warner is now 36-0 and the top seed in the SoDak 16 and will face No. 16 Tripp-Delmot/Armour Tuesday.

No. 1 Warner (36-0) def. No. 4 Leola/Frederick (15-13), 25-9, 25-10, 25-5.

Serving: LF 2 aces (Laura Sumption 4-4, 1 ace); WAR 70-73, 12 aces (Kyra Marcuson 21-21, 6 aces; Ava Nilsson 9-10, 3 aces).

Hitting: LF Sofia Losure 20-24, 6 kills); WAR 71-77, 43 kills (Kyleigh Schopp 20-20, 14 kills; Lauren Marcuson 18-19, 11 kills; K. Marcuson 19-21, 11 kills).

Setting: LF 11 assists (Jocelynn Ellen 42-42, 11 assists); WAR 76-76, 42 assists (Nilsson 62-62, 36 assists).

Digs: LF (Sumption 8 digs; Losure 8 digs); WAR 39 digs (Courtney Bjorgaard 15 digs).

Blocks: LF (Kaylee Achen 1 solo); WAR 10 block assists (Nilsson 5 assists; Schopp 5 assists).

Second-seeded Northwestern knocked off by Hitchcock-Tulare

Northwestern lost middle hitter Ashley Haven early in the first set and couldn’t find the answers as the No. 2 seed in Region 1B lost to third-seeded Hitchcock-Tulare 25-27, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25 Thursday in Mellette.

Haven, according to head coach Nora Groft, had been sick prior to the match and “played some in set one but had to come out.”

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The Patriots would outhit the Wildcats, going 148 for 169 on attack attempts with 66 kills. Katelyn Schroeder had a big night connecting on 64 on 66 attempts for a match-high 31 kills. Gracyn Bixler was 30 of 30 serving with three aces.

Taylor Vetter led Northwestern with 14 kills. Haven managed 11 kills before leaving. The Wildcats finished with 12 aces. Tara Blachford went 21 of 21 serving with three aces.

Hitchcock-Tulare enters the SoDak 16 as the No. 9 seed and will play eighth-seeded Faulkton Area. The Trojans, the No. 1 seed in Region 6B, swept Highmore-Harrold 25-18, 25-12, 25-20 to advance.

Northwestern ends its season with a 27-8 record.

No. 3 Hitchcock-Tulare (24-7) def. No. 2 Northwestern (27-8) 27-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18.

Serving: HT 88-94, 8 aces (Gracyn Boxer 30-30, 3 aces); NW 88-91, 12 aces (Tara Blachford 21-21, 3 aces).

Hitting: HT 148-169, 66 kills (Katelyn Schroeder 64-66, 31 kills); NW (Taylor Vetter 36-44, 14 kills).

Setting: HT 159-162, 62 assists (Lila Johnson 117-120, 46 assists); NW 149-150, 43 assists (Ella Boekelheide 71-71, 24 assists).

Digs: HT 94 (Schroeder 30); NW 68 (Vetter 15; Boekelheide 14).

Blocks: HT 1 solo, 6 assists (Rebecca Huizenga 1 solo, 2 assists); NW 2 solo, 6 assists (Nikki Nicholson 1 solo, 1 assist).

SoDak 16 pairings for classes A and B

All games are Tuesday, Nov. 17 at neutral sites.

Class A

• No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian (31-4) vs. No. 16 Bennett County (11-15), 5:30 p.m., Mitchell Corn Palace
• No. 2 Rapid City Christian (32-5) vs. No. 15 Winner (13-17), 5:30 p.m. MT, Rapid City Central High School
• No. 3 Groton Area (20-4) vs. No. 14 Lennox (18-10), 6:30 p.m., Watertown High School
• No. 4 Miller (27-6) vs. No. 13 Flandreau (18-9), 7:30 p.m., Huron Arena
• No. 5 Aberdeen Roncalli (20-5) vs. No. 12 Dakota Valley (18-10), 6:30 p.m., Great Plains Lutheran High School in Watertown
• No. 6 Platte-Geddes (30-6) vs. No. 11 Elkton-Lake Benton (21-11), 7 p.m., Mitchell Corn Palace
• No. 7 Dell Rapids (25-6) vs. No. 10 Hill City (27-6), 5:30 p.m., Chamberlain Armory
• No. 8 Mobridge-Pollock (26-7) vs. No. 9 Wagner (25-6), 6:30 p.m., Pierre Riggs High School

Class B

• No. 1 Warner (36-0) vs. No. 16 Tripp-Delmont/Armour (11-15), 6 p.m., Huron Arena
• No. 2 Chester (29-2) vs. No. 15 Lemmon (18-12), 5:30 p.m., James Valley Christian School in Huron
• No. 3 Faith (32-3) vs. No. 14 Gayville-Volin (20-11), 5 p.m., Stanley County High School in Fort Pierre
• No. 4 Colman-Egan (27-5) vs. No. 13 Alcester-Hudson (23-8), 7 p.m., West Central High School in Hartford
• No. 5 Burke (31-4) vs. No. 12 Herreid/Selby Area (21-6), 7 p.m., Chamberlain Armory
• No. 6 Wolsey-Wessington (28-4) vs. No. 11 Kadoka Area (23-11), 6:30 p.m., Stanley County High School in Fort Pierre
• No. 7 Castlewood (20-8) vs. No. 10 Philip (24-10), 7 p.m., James Valley Christian School in Huron
• No. 8 Faulkton Area (23-9) vs. No. 9 Hitchcock-Tulare (24-7), Northwestern High School in Mellette

Class AA postseason pairings have yet to be determined. Aberdeen Central was swept by Sioux Falls 3-0 on the road Tuesday to finish the regular season at 13-11.

Region scores from Tuesday, Nov. 2

Region 2A

No. 4 Flandreau def. No. 1 Hamlin 25-18, 25-18, 25-20

No. 3 Elkton-Lake Benton def. No. 2 Estelline/Hendricks 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-10

Region 3A

No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian def. No. 4 Baltic 25-11, 25-12, 25-17

No. 2 Dell Rapids def. No. 3 Madison 25-23, 25-17, 29-27

Region 4A

No. 4 Lennox def. No. 1 Canton 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16

No. 2 Dakota Valley def. no. 3 Elk Point-Jefferson 24-26, 20-25, 25-12, 25-20, 15-9

Region 5A

No. 1 Platte Geddes def. No. 4 Mount Vernon/Plankinton 25-19, 25-20, 25-16

No. 2 Wagner def. No. 3 Parkston 25-18, 25-17, 16-25, 25-16

Region 6A

No. 1 Miller def. No. 5 North Central 25-21, 25-14, 25-12

No. Mobridge-Pollock def. No. 3 Stanley County 25-13, 25-15, 25-4

Region 7A

No. 4 Bennett County def. No. 1 Pine Ridge 25-22, 25-17, 22-25, 17-25, 15-11

No. 2 Winner def. No. 3 Lakota Tech 25-11, 25-13, 25-19

Region 8A

No. 1 Rapid City Christian def. Custer 30-32, 25-14, 25-13, 25-20

No. 2 Hill City def. No. 3 Belle Fourche 25-14, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21

Region 2B

No. 1 Wolsey-Wessington def. No. 5 Arlington 29-27, 19-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-7

No. 2 Castlewood def. No. 6 Iroquois/Lake Preston 25-11, 25-17, 25-22

Region 3B

No. 1 Chester def. No. 4 Ethan 25-13, 25-17,25-13

No. 2 Colman-Egan def. No. 3 Sioux Falls Lutheran 25-20, 25-12, 19-25, 20-25, 15-11

Region 4B

No. 1 Ancestor-Hudson def. No. 4 Centerville 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11

No. 2 Gayville-Volin def. No. 6 Scotland 25-11, 25-22, 25-9

Region 5B

No. 1 Burke def. No. 4 Gregory 25-11, 25-16, 25-10

No. 6 Tripp-Delmont/Armour def. No. 2 Avon 25-19, 25-19, 18-25, 25-27, 15-13

Region 6B

No. 1 Faulkton Area def. No. 5 Highmore-Harrold 25-18, 25-12, 25-20

No. 2 Herreid/Selby Area def. No. 3 Sully Buttes 25-12, 25-21, 25-21

Region 7B

No. 1 Phillip def. No 4 White River 25-14, 25-15, 25-20

No. 2 Kadoka Area def. No. 3 Wall 25-15, 25-12, 25-21

Region 8B

No. 1 Faith def. No. 8 Bison 25-13, 25-6, 25-12

No. 4 Newell def. No. 5 Timber Lake 20-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-17