Miller volleyball team competes against S.F. Christian
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SIOUX FALLS — Sioux Falls Christian added to its state championship volleyball collection with a sweep against Miller in the title game of the Class A State Tournament on Saturday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.
The Chargers earned their second Class A championship in as many years and eighth overall with set scores of 25-17, 25-14 and 25-12.
The previous state tourney experience showed from the start as third-seeded Sioux Falls Christian opened up a 10-2 advantage in the first set.
After withstanding the early barrage, the top-seeded Rustlers managed to right the ship and start cutting into their deficit. An ace serve by Elise Brooks and a rotation violation by the Chargers allowed Miller to pull back to within two points at 15-13.
It would be as close as the Rustlers would get, as Sioux Falls Christian made nine of the next 10 points to stake a 24-14 advantage. The run included four consecutive aces by Kylee Van Egdom.
A kill by Kadye Fernholz staved off defeat for Miller and a kill by VonnaGail Schlechter cut the deficit to seven points, but that’s as close as it would get as the Chargers emerged with a 25-17 victory in the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Sioux Falls Christian used a pair of aces by Abby Glanzer to get off to a quick start in the second set. The Chargers built a 4-0 lead and were able to stretch their lead to double figures rather quickly at 15-4. Included in the run were two more ace serves by Van Egdom.
The Rustlers would narrow their deficit back into single digits on just three occasions during the remainder of the second set.
The first came when Fernholz and Brooks combined for a block kill to make it 19-10. A service error by Sioux Falls Christian, followed by a Fernholz kill brought Miller as close as it would get the rest of the way at 20-12. The final time the Rustlers would trail by less than 10 points was when Schlechter and Fernholz combined for a block kill to make it 23-14.
The Chargers fittingly would close the set with an ace serve by Van Egdom to secure a 25-14 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Sioux Falls Christian was able to get the sizeable leads at the start of the third set as it had in the previous two sets. Van Egdom recorded another ace serve to give the Chargers a 5-2 lead, but an ace serve by Emma Breland on the other side of the net brought Miller back to within a point at 5-4.
It would be the final time that the Rustlers would challenge for the lead, as Sioux Falls Christian responded with five unanswered points to stake a 10-4 lead.
After Miller cut the lead back to just three at 11-8, the Chargers embarked on a 9-1 run to stretch its advantage into double figures at 20-9.
The Rustlers would manage just three more points the rest of the way, as Sioux Falls Christian secured back-to-back titles with a 25-12 win in the third set.
Van Egdom would finish with 11 of the 19 service aces in the match for the Chargers. She would finish the tournament with 17 total aces.
Van Egdom also had a team-high 10 kills in the championship match 10 digs and four block assists. Lauren Tim has six kills, while Abby Glanzer and and Caitlyn Pruis each had four kills.
Samantha Fykstra tallied 22 assists for SFC, while Glanzer had 10 digs.
Fernholz led Miller with 13 kills to boost her leading total for the tournament to 61. She also had eight digs and three block assists.
Rachel Oligmueller recorded 18 assists to increase her total to 104 for the tournament, which ranked No. 1 between all setters, for the Rustlers. Schlechter led the way with nine digs.
Miller, which was making its 10th appearance in the state tournament after finishing seventh last year, ends the season with a 30-3 record.
Sioux Falls Christian 25 25 25
Miller 17 14 12