Huron volleyball team competes against Watertown
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SIOUX FALLS —As first round state tournament matches go, this was a classic.
The fifth-seeded Huron Tigers fought back from a 2-1 set deficit to force a fourth set, persevered in that set to force a fifth and deciding set and withstood 10 ties and seven lead changes, but ultimately fell just short of the win, falling to the No. 4 Watertown Arrows 25-14, 21-25, 25-19, 24-26 and 19-17 in the first round of the Class “AA” State volleyball tournament Thursday afternoon.
“I am so, so elated and extremely sad at the same time,” said Huron coach Shelly Buddenhagen moments after the match. “We played so well today, and it came down to just a couple of points, and the ball didn’t bounce our way at those times.”
The Arrows had taken both previous meetings between the two clubs this season, halting Huron’s 4-0 start with a 3-1 win for Watertown in late August, then coming into Huron Arena and sweeping the Tigers in a match that clinched the ESD title for the Arrows in the middle of October.
It was that October Watertown team that showed up in the first set, as the Arrows sprinted to an early lead and increased it throughout for a 25-14 win.
Set two set the tone for the remainder of the match, as the teams played very closely throughout. A 5-0 run for the Tigers, keyed by a pair of Kylie Overbay aces, as well as kills from Alaina Dale and Libby Rounds staked Huron to its largest lead of the set, at 15-9. Watertown came back, as Meghan Heggelund and Sophie Tietz drew the Arrows to within a point, at 15-14, be for Huron went on a little 6-1 spree. Hollee Niehus got things rolling with a kill down the line, Dale smacked an ace serve of the Arrows’ back row, Mikena Moore split the Watertown defense with a kill, then Tenley Buddenhagen slipped a quick set past the Arrow’s formidable front line and then caught the defense napping with an ace serve.
Watertown got the margin down to two points - at 22-20 - but Huron closed out the set with a kill by Niehus, to tie the match.
Set three was a back-and-forth struggle to the midway point, when back-to-back errors by the Tigers gave Watertown a 14-11 lead. After a Huron timeout, the Arrows increased their lead, owning a seven-point margin at one point and cruising to the 25-19 win.
With their backs against the wall, Huron built a lead in the fourth set. Isabell Ford had two aces, Tenley Buddenhagen added an ace and both Niehus and Dale contributed kills to take the Tigers to an 8-5 lead. Huron was not able to put the Arrows away, but did maintain the lead, with solid play from Dale, Tenley Buddenhagen and Moore. A Niehus ace serve gave Huron its largest lead of the set, at 20-14.
The Arrows chipped away and after a kill and a block-kill from Mckenzie Buisker, Watertown tied the score at 22-all. Watertown gave up two points on errors, putting Huron at match point, then pulled even on kills by Heggelund and Tietz.