Tigers looking to finish strong in AA tourney

HURON — For the 10th year in a row, the Huron volleyball team will close its season at the Class AA State Tournament.
The Tigers, who were the consolation champions a year ago, put together a 17-7 season this year to claim the fifth.
“On paper, as the shortest team in the AA ranks, we shouldn’t have finished that high.  So, I consider this a huge feat for this team and am so proud of this group of young ladies,” Huron coach Shelly Buddenhagen said. “We have competed super hard and worked diligently as a group on a daily basis to earn that ranking.   The AA schedule is a grind, and our kids battled every day of the season to ‘get 2 points better’.” 
As the No. 5 seed, the Tigers will match up against fourth-seeded Watertown in the opening round at 1:45 p.m. Thursday at the Denny Sanford Premiere Center in Sioux Falls.
“We are the underdogs and so for us, we have nothing to lose,” Buddenhagen said of her team’s approach to the state tournament. “We are going to go into the tournament focused on our effort and play hard on every play and every point.”
While some younger players have filled key roles in helping the Tigers be successful this season, Buddenhagen pointed to the seniors on the roster as being the motivating factors throughout the season.
“Every season, a team which makes it to the state tournament and plays at a high level, has a group of seniors who are willing to accept their roles, set high goals, hold others accountable and teach the underclassmen,” she said.
Huron’s senior group this season was made up of hitters Hollee Niehus, Melissa Berg and Madison Pfitzer, along with defensive specialists Isabell Ford and Kylie Overbay.

Niehus, a 5-foot-8 left-handed player, suffered as the go-to hitter for the Tigers. She has amassed a team-high 369 kills and recorded 208 digs.
“Hollee had a terrific season and was able to shoulder much of the offensive production,” Buddenhagen said. “Melissa Berg is a do-it-all player for us and was able to play just about any position on the court.  Madison Pfitzer is an outside hitter who has started some matches for us.”
Ford, a two-year starter, and Overbay made impacts for the team on the defensive side of the net.
“Isabell Ford has been a solid defensive specialist, while Kylie Overbay is a backup setter and has transitioned into a defensive specialist,” Buddenhagen said.
Junior Havyn Heinz handled the libero duties for Huron and kept a lot of balls from hitting the floor in the back row for the Tigers. She has 575 digs this season and surpassed the 2000-dig milestone earlier this season.
Sophomore Tenley Buddenhagen served as the team’s setter and accrued 697 assists this season. Also spending considerable time in the lineup this season as hitters were junior Alaina Dale, sophomore Mikena Moore, sophomore Libby Rounds and freshman Emily Dale.
While the Tigers have been able to play with almost any team in the tournament, they went winless this season against the top four seeds in the regular season. That span includes a pair of 3-0 setbacks against Watertown, which is 22-5.
“We played well at times versus them but seemed to make mistakes at the most inopportune times, which killed the momentum,” Buddenhagen said of the last match against the Arrows, which was for a share of the Eastern South Dakota Conference title. “This match gives us a “re-do” — something we’ve wanted since we stepped off the court on Oct. 16th. 
“They are tall, lanky and athletic, so we will have to pit our strengths against theirs,” she said.
In the opening match of the day on Thursday, top-seeded Rapid City Stevens (31-1) will take on No. 8 Brookings (15-13) at noon. Third-seeded Sioux Falls O’Gorman (27-5) will face No. 6 Mitchell (15-8) in the opening match of the night session Thursday at 6 p.m., while second-seeded Sioux Falls Washington (28-5) faces No. 7 Sioux Falls Roosevelt (16-13) in the final match at 7:45 p.m.
“Rapid City Stevens, Sioux Falls O’Gorman and Sioux Falls Washington are the favorites in this tournament. It will all depend on who gets hot at the right time,” Buddenhagen said. “Mitchell is a dark-horse with a senior-laden squad and with (Mackenzie)Miller more healthy than she has been with her ACL recovery, they could prove to be very dangerous. 
“Brookings is also very hot, and if they are playing well, they might also be able to scare RCS,” she said.
The consolation semifinals will be held at noon and 1:45 p.m. Friday, with the semifinals to follow at 6 and 7:45 p.m.
The tournament concludes on Saturday, with the seventh-place match beginning at 9 a.m. The consolation championship is slated for 10:45 a.m., followed by the third-place match at 12:30 p.m.
The Class AA title match will be held at 8 p.m.