Blackhawks take fifth at Hanson Early Bird
ALEXANDRIA — The Platte-Geddes Black Panthers defeated the Hanson Beaverettes 2-1 to claim the title at the Hanson Early Bird volleyball tournament, which wrapped up Thursday.

The Black Panthers stopped Freeman in one semifinal, while Hanson bested Avon in the other to set up the championship clash.

On the consolation side of the draw, the Sanborn Central/Woonsocket defeated Freeman Academy/Marion in one semifinal game, while Wessington Springs downed Andes Central/Dakota Christian in the other.

The Blackhawks outlasted the Lady Spartans 2-1 (25-15, 20-25, 25-23) to take the consolation championship.
Kenna Ochsner had 10 kills and 14 digs to pace the Blackhawks, while Liz Boschee added nine kills and Kenzie Schley tallied 19 set assists.

For the Lady Spartans, Avery Orth connected with a match-high 16 kills and also contributed 16 digs and stroked four aces.

Alyssa Grohs had 18 assists and 15 digs, while Ashlyn Weber had four aces as well.

The Blackhawks return to face the Beaverettes on Tuesday, while the Spartans host Iroquois/Lake Preston on Tuesday.

Highmore-Harrold 3, Ipswich 0
IPSWICH — Highmore-Harrold opened the season with a sweep against Ipswich on Thursday.

The Pirates won the match with set scores of 25-16, 30-28 and 25-19.

Kendall Cermak paced Highmore-Harrold with nine kills on 24 of 27 attacks.

Brooklyn Baloun was 15 of 16 serving with two aces for the Pirates, while Cermak was perfect on 11 serves with an ace.

Baloun also had a team-high 15 assists for Highmore-Harrold. Reghan Wescott and Kenidy Effling finished with 26 and 20 digs, respectively.

Maley Guthmiller led Ipswich with 12 kills on 38 of 46 spikes, while Gabby Wald had six kills on 21 of 23 hits. They both also had two aces.

Reaghan Bowers converted on 99 of 102 sets and had 31 assists for the Tigers.

Wald tallied 35 digs, while Kathryn Kilbse had 29 digs.

Both teams return to action Tuesday. Highmore-Harrold hosts James Valley Christina, while Ipsiwch hosts Groton Area.  

Sioux Valley 3, Clark/Willow Lake 0
VOLGA — The Sioux Valley Cossacks defeated the Clark/Willow Lake Cyclones 3-0 in volleyball Thursday night. Set scores for the Cossacks were 25-12, 25-19 and 25-20.

Kaedyn Sapp led Sioux Valley with 14 kills on the night and added 18 digs as well. Caitlyn Cadduck passed out 47 assists and Sunny Hesby added 41 for the Cossacks. Adison Renkly had nine kills.

Clark/Willow Lake was led by Shay Michalski’s eight kills, while Hannah Heiman added six. Sami Brenden had 23 set assists in the match and Avery Lee led the defense with 11 digs.

The Cyclones fall to 0-2 with the loss and are back in action Saturday at the Flandreau Invitational Tournament.

Deubrook 3, De Smet 0
DEUBROOK — The Deubrook Area Dolphins proved to be poor hosts Thursday night, blanking the De Smet Bulldogs 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-20) in non-conference volleyball action. It was the season opener for the Dolphins, while De Smet falls to 1-1.

Matte Bauman had 10 kills, 12 assists three aces for Deubrook Area, while Hanna Kjeldon added 10 kills. Madalyn Bauman had 20 assists and Carly Englestad also had three aces.

De Smet was led by Hazel Leuthmers’ 11 kills, while Megan Dylla had 10 assists. Mirra Beck and Ivey Schoenfelder each recorded a pair of aces.

De Smet hosts Wolsey-Wessington on Tuesday in its home opener.

Wolsey-Wessington 3, Arlington 1
WOLSEY – Coming off a third place finish at last season’s state tourney and receiving votes in preseason Class “B” polls, the Wolsey-Wessington Lady Warbirds came out shaky and dropped the first game Tuesday against the Arlington Cardinals, but came back to secure a 3-1 match victory Tuesday in Wolsey.

Set scores for the Lady Warbirds were 23-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-20.

The Lady Warbirds move to 1-0 behind a dominant game by Tatum Luce.

Luce recorded an astounding 10 blocks, aced three serves, and recorded eight kills.

Kailyn Dorris was dominant upfront for Wolsey-Wessington with 19 kills and also had 24 digs.

Payton Kemnitz was the leading setter for the Lady ‘Birds with 17 assists, and Shae Uttecht led the defense with 25 digs.

For the Cardinals (0-1), Addie Steffensen led the way with 14 kills, two blocks, and three service aces.

The Lady Warbirds travel to top-ranked Warner Monday.

Castlewood 3, Clark/Willow Lake 0
WILLOW LAKE — Castlewood, which sits just outside of the top five in the Class B volleyball preseason rankings, opened the season with a sweep against Clark/Willow Lake on Tuesday.

The Warriors used set scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-19 to win the match.

Hannah Heiman was 12 of 12 serving with three aces to lead Clark/Willow Lake, while Avery Lee was 11 of 12 serving.

Sara Thonvold inked eight kills for the Cylcones on 12 of 15 attacks, while Heiman had seven kills on 15 of 20 hits and Shay Michalski had six kills on 17 of 21 spikes.

Sami Brenden converted on 69 of 71 sets and finished with 23 assists.

Thonvold and Zoey Helkenn had five and four digs, respectively. Michalski recorded four blocks, while Brenden had a pair of blocks.