Tigers record sweep to win consolation title in AA

RAPID CITY — The Huron Tigers used a sweep against the Aberdeen Central Golden Eagles to emerge with the consolation championship on Saturday during the Class AA State Volleyball Tournament at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
The Tigers used set scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-17 to earn its second straight win in the three-day tournament. It also was the second win against a District 3AA rival.
“We’ve had a great tournament. Winning these last two matches against District 3AA teams made it that much sweeter,” Huron coach Shelly Buddenhagen said. “I am just so happy and proud. These kids are just remarkable kids.”
After a pair of tough matches the first two days of the tournament, Buddenhagen wasn’t sure how much gas her team had left in its tank for the matchup against the Golden Eagles. Aberdeen Central, which had won the previous meeting between the two teams, was dealing with some adversity of its own with a loss of two key players due to injury during the first two days of the state tourney.
Huron led by as many as five points early in the opening set, but the Golden Eagles proved they weren’t going to go down without a fight no matter what kind of obstancles they faced.
After working its way back into the set, Aberdeen Central took its first lead at 23-22 and moved to the verge of claiming a 1-0 lead in the match with the next point.
The Tigers would avert an early deficit by tying the score at 24-24 and scored the next two points for a 26-24 win in the set and a 1-0 advantage in the match.
The momentum Huron had built would carry into the second set, as the Tigers would score the first eight points for an advantage it wouldn’t relinguish.
The Tigers would post a 25-18 victory in the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Despite not getting off to as strong of a start in the third set, Huron used a 6-0 run to build a 6-2 advantage.

Back-to-back kills by Hollee Niehus would give the Tigers an 8-3 lead, but Aberdeen Central battled back with straight kills by Cassidy Gough to shave its deficit to just two at 9-7.
However, that would be as close as the Golden Eagles would get. The Tigers put together an 8-0 run, which included three aces by Tenley Buddenhagen and kills by Kayla Schimke and Mikena Moore to build a double-digit lead at 17-7.
Huron’s advantage would get no lower than five the rest of the way, as Niehus recorded kills on four of the final five points to give the Tigers a 25-17 victory in the set and a sweep in the match.
“Those kids hung in there and kept going,” Buddenhagen said of her team, which finished the season at 15-11.
Niehus would finish the match with 21 kills, which was more than double that of any other player on the court. She was the lone player with more than three kills for the Tigers.
“I was concerned about how much we had left in our legs,” Buddenhagen said. “With Kayla playing so hard through the first two matches, she had nothing left today, so we knew the ball was going to Hollee and she just kept going.
“She’s had a real good year and a great tournament,” she said of Niehus, who is 5-8 junior. “She’s just a meek and mild mannered kid, but on the court she turns into a strong and confident volleyball player.”
Schimke, Buddenhagen, Mikena Moore and Melissa Berg each had three kills for Huron.
Also looming large for the Tigers during their final match of the season was its strong serving. They finished the match with 12 ace serves, including four each from Buddenhagen and senior Jayda Shillingstad to go along with three from Havyn Heinz.
“We were dialed in,” Buddenhagen said of her team’s serving. “We knew we had to be good serving.”
Shillingstad, who along with Schimke and Alexis Urena played their final matches for the Tigers, finished with 27 assists in the match.
“She’s one of the best setters I have ever coached,” Buddenhagen said of Shillingstad, who filled that role as a starter for the past three seasons. “In addition to setting, she goes up and challenges hitters on the block.
Heinz, who fills the role as libero for Huron, amassed a team-high 31 digs in the match.
“Havyn is a tough kid. She likes to take those big hits and muscles up,” Buddenhagen said. “She’s going to challenge those big hitters from other teams and is a solid passer.”
Also having a strong match defensively for Huron was Buddenhagen with 18 digs.
Aberdeen Central, which finished the season at 17-7, was led by Karli Gardner with 10 kills and Gough with nine kills. Haylee Mork finished with 20 assists, four aces and 13 digs, while Mya Malchow had three aces and Laura Babcock had 30 digs.

PHOTO CREDIT TO S.D. PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Huron’s Tenley Buddenhagen sets the ball during the consolation championship match against Aberdeen Central on Saturday at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City.