After eighth-place finish last season, No. 2 Burke ready to contend for Class B volleyball title

Landon Dierks, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·3 min read

Nov. 15—BURKE, S.D. — Last season, Burke went to the state tournament as the No. 8 seed, but placing in the same position as the seed didn't sit well with the Cougars.

Now the young, relatively inexperienced team from last postseason has matured and will be looked to as a true contender for the Class B crown as the No. 2 seed in this year's field.

"You have goals to get there [to the state tournament], but you don't really want to get eighth," said Burke coach Billie Jo Indahl. "We got home and made new goals right away.

"The bar is set high," she continued. "They want to go in and battle for a state championship, and I think they can do that. We've beaten some great teams this year and we know we can play with great teams."

At 31-4 on the season, the Cougars own a sparkling 19-0 mark against South Dakota Class B competition, including a best-of-three win over No. 1 seed Warner and victories over other top-30 Class B programs in Tripp-Delmont/Armour (twice), Arlington, Faulkton Area, Deubrook Area, Gayville-Volin and Kakoka Area (in the SoDak 16).

Burke's only trip-ups came against three teams in the Class A bracket — No. 1 Wagner, No. 3 Elkton-Lake Benton and No. 7 Platte-Geddes — and St. Mary's of O'Neill, Nebraska (3-2).

Next up in the state quarterfinals is No. 7 seed Castlewood (22-7), a program making its first state tournament appearance since 1997 after sweeping Tripp-Delmont/Armour in the SoDak 16.

Also on Burke's side of the bracket are region rivals No. 3 Chester Area (the 2021 consolation champion) and No. 6 Colman-Egan (the 2021 runner-up). On the other side, defending champion No. 1 Warner leads the way alongside fellow northern powerhouse No. 4 Northwestern, No. 5 Wolsey-Wessington and No. 8 Freeman.

With 149 blocks, Castlewood is the third-most proficient blocking team in the Class B field and will look to challenge a heavy-hitting Cougar side at the net. However, the area where Indahl is most pleased with her team's play leading into the state tournament is in their ability to keep opposing net defenders off-balance by getting a bevy of attackers involved.

"Compared to last year, we can really move the ball around to all of our hitters this year, and even the hitters who are not hitting are selling it like they're going to hit it," Indahl said. "We've grown a lot with that, had some hitters step up and we feel confident going to anybody that we set up."

On the season, a quartet of Cougars — Adisyn Indahl (468), Kailee Frank (326), Paige Bull (172), Emmie Hausmann (152) — have triple-digit kills as Burke has hit .243 as a team, facilitated by the setting of Elly Witt (498 assists) and Ava Sargent (360).

What's aided Burke's development into a true contender this year has been the amount of returning experience from last year's run to the state tournament. All four top hitters and both top setters were involved, as was Elle Johnson, who has the most digs (603) and serves received (526) on the team. That experience and level of familiarity have helped boost the offensive pace and yielded top-notch results for the Cougars.

"We just have to be at the top of our game," Indahl said. "If we keep this run going, this group can do great things."