Tigers volleyball team qualifies to play in state tournament
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HURON — The Huron Tigers clawed their way into the state tournament next week, with a 3-0 victory against the Sioux Falls Roosevelt Rough Riders, Thursday at the Huron Arena.
“They were mentally prepared, their goal from the start was to make it to state,” said Tiger Coach Shelly Buddenhagen.
Set scores for the sixth seeded Huron Tigers were 25-11, 25-23 and 25-13.
The Tigers were eager to gain points fast and kicked off the match with a pair of kills from Jayda Shillingstad with Huron in a four-point lead. Rylee Boyd and Tatum Wilson put the Rough Riders on the board, both with back to back kills which gave them a four-point run, which was intercepted by a Mikena Moore kill.
The middle of the first set was controlled by the Tigers; Hollee Niehus with double kills and a Kayla Schimke kill sent the Riders into time out with the score at 20-11 to Huron. Havyn Heinz had the winning ace, which finished the first set at 25-11 to the Tigers after a nine-point run.
“This was nerve-wracking,” said Buddenhagen. “My ninth season as a Tiger coach and a Huron Tiger team has never beat a Roosevelt team in the season playoffs, so this really is a big deal.”
Boyd hit triple kills for the Riders to start off the second set. Both teams had a four point run, but Huron stayed close behind the Riders early in set two. Roosevelt came back from a Huron time out with an ace by Miah Simmons and a Simmons kill, making the score 12-6 to the Riders.
“The girls were worrying about the outcome instead of the practice, so coming back from Rapid City is when we really defined staying focused and being mentally tough,” Buddenhagen explained.
Then the Tigers caught fire; as a true team effort they built momentum and turned a six-point Riders lead to a tie at 16-16. The last half of the second set was in Huron’s control after the Tigers caught up, until Boyd, Wilson and Bella Garcia were hitting kills to take the lead back at 22-21. The Tigers were quick to gain those points back as Shillingstad caught fire and ended the set 25-23 to Huron.
Shillingstad also made Burger Plus outstanding player of the match. Buddenhagen stated, “Jayda has played some really great sets. What she did tonight was spectacular.”
Huron’s Kayla Schimke spikes the ball during Thursday’s match against Sioux Falls Roosevelt at Huron Arena.
Next, Huron’s Mikena Moore blocks the ball as teammate Hollee Niehus backs her up on the play during a Round of 16 match against Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Thursday at Huron Arena.
Photos by Mike Carroll/Plainsman