State volleyball: Elk Point-Jefferson pulls upset, defending champs win

Eighth-seeded Elk Point-Jefferson's 3-1 Class A win over top-seeded Wagner and victories by defending champions Sioux Falls O'Gorman (Class AA), Sioux Falls Christian (Class A) and Warner (Class B) highlighted first-round play Thursday in the 2022 South Dakota State High School volleyball tournament.

The three-day, 24-team tourney continues through Saturday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center and should continue to feature a mix of predictability and surprise.

Here's a wrapup of Thursday's action by class:

Class AA

First-round winners included two-time defending champion and second-seeded O'Gorman, which improved to 25-4 with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19 and 25-18) over Huron; top-seeded Sioux Falls Washington, which swept Rapid City Stevens 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-20); fourth-seeded Sioux Falls Jefferson, which downed Pierre 3-1 (25-15, 24-26, 25-21 and 25-21); and third-seeded Harrisburg, which stopped Sioux Falls Lincoln 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-17).

Senior Bergen Reilly tallied 20 kills and 13 digs for O'Gorman (25-4). Senior setter Brooke Harvison added 33 assists and 6-foot-4 senior middle hitter Brogan Beck 12 kills and five block assists.

"There's eight seniors on this team and we've had two in a row but it's going to be a little bittersweet if we don't go out with a win," said Reilly, a University of Nebraska recruit who has international experience representing the United States. "We want to finish off strong. This is a great group and we've just worked so hard that going out with a three-peat would just be the best-case scenario:

Huron (17-10) received 10 kills from Heaven Gainey, 19 assists from Hamtyn Heinz and 19 digs from Bryn Huber.

Washington (26-4) rolled into the semis by getting 20 kills from Joslyn Richardson and 30 assists from Macie Malchow. Isabell Higgins made seven kills for Stevens (23-13).

Jefferson, a second-year school, notched its first-ever state volleyball tournament win with 13 kills from Cadence Nuttbrock and 10 each from Ella Kvernmo and Emory Brosnahan. Kvernmo added 14 digs and Presly Pastian 39 assists.

Gabrielle Zachariasen's 18 kills and 10 digs, Morrisen Samuels' 17 kills and Kayleigh Hybertson's 43 assists sparked Harrisburg (26-3). Nyareal Kutey had 14 kills and Samantha Zeeck 32 assists for Lincoln (20-11).

Friday: Consolation semifinals (RC Stevens vs. Pierre, 11:15 a.m. and Huron vs. SF Lincoln, 1:15 p.m.) and semifinals (SF Washington vs. SF Jefferson, 5 p.m. and SF O'Gorman vs. Harrisburg, 6:45 p.m.).

Class A

It seems likely that the seeding is a little off in Class A since five-time defending champion Sioux Falls Christian opened as the No. 4 seed, but it was still an impressive feat for eighth-seeded Elk Point-Jefferson to kick off the day with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 27-25) win over top-seeded Wagner.

Sioux Falls Christian then cruised past Dakota Valley 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-21), second-seeded Miller notched a 3-2 (24-26, 25-27, 25-20, 15-8) win over Platte-Geddes and third-seeded Elkton-Lake Benton downed Belle Fourche 3-0 (25-20, 25-17 and 25-22).

Sophomore Bentlee Kollbaum produced 18 kills, junior Natalie Heuertz 16 and senior Josie Curry 13 for EPJ (25-9). Seniors Alyssa Chytka (30 digs), Sophia Giorgio (53 assists) and Danica Torrez (nine kills, 14 digs) also had key contributions.

The Huskies avenged two regular-season losses to Canton with a regional win and then avenged a 2-0 loss to Wagner on Thursday. They'll try to avenge two losses to Sioux Falls Christian in Friday evening's semifinals.

"We fought so hard in the postseason to get to state and now we know we're getting to play the No. 1 seed," said Torrez. "We knew we had nothing to lose, so we fought as hard as we could and look where we ended up."

Wagner (31-4) got 16 kills and 12 digs from Emma Yost and 37 assists and 15 digs from Macy Koupal.

Sioux Falls Christian (31-5) moved on with 15 kills and 11 digs from Ellie Lems and 10 and 13 from Sidney Oostra. Addisen Barber made 35 assists. Dakota Valley (26-8) was led by Sophie Tuttle with eight kills and 12 digs and Logan Miller 23 assists.

Elkton-Lake Benton improved to 31-3 with 29 assists and 11 digs from Tevan Erickson, 11 kills from Andrea Renkly and eight kills and 13 digs from Rachael Krog. Mataya Ward finished with 11 kills and 15 digs and Lily McCarty 32 assists for Belle Fourche (32-7).

Friday: Consolation semifinals (Wagner vs. Dakota Valley, 11:15 a.m. and Platte-Geddes vs. Belle Fourche, 1:15 p.m.) and semifinals (Elk Point-Jefferson vs. SF Christian, 5 p.m. and Miller vs. Elkton-Lake Benton, 6:45 p.m.).

Class B

There were definitely some competitive matches in Class B on Thursday, starting with top-seeded Warner's 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-16, 25-11) victory over Freeman.

Fifth-seeded Wolsey-Wessington enjoyed its first ever state-tourney match by outlasting Northwestern 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 14-25, 21-25, 19-17); second-seeded Burke also held off Castlewood 3-2 (25-13, 23-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-13) and third-seeded Chester Area topped Colman-Egan 3-1 (25-13, 25-16, 16-25, 25-20).

Lauren Marcuson (17 kills, 15 digs), Kyra Marcuson (14 kills, 12 digs) and Ava Nilsson (53 assists and 14 digs) helped Warner improved to 35-2. Kate Miller notched 18 kills and 14 digs and Cami Fransen 33 assists in Freeman's (21-10) first state-tournament match since 1998.

Maya Boomsma power Wolsey-Wessington (29-4) with 20 kills and 19 digs. Payton Kemnitz contributed 27 assists and Leah Williams 29 digs. Northwestern (27-9) got 30 kills from Ella Haven, 17 kills from Ashley Haven and 43 assists and 20 digs from Brooklinn Halvorson.

Kailee Frank's 21 kills and 12 digs and Adisyn Indahl's 17 and 17 helped Burke (32-4) hold off Castlewood (22-8).

"This was our first time playing them. We watched some film and kind of knew what to expect from that," said Indahl. "They're a pretty good team. We just had to go in confident and strong."

Castlewood (22-8), playing at state for the first time since 1997, led 12-8 in the fifth set before Burke rallied. The Warriors got 16 kills and 16 digs from Mackenzie Everson, 35 assists and 13 digs from Gracie Haug, 11 kills and 10 digs from Presley Knecht and nine kills and 17 digs from Maddie Horn.

Chester Area (27-5) reached the semis with big matches from Lily VanHal (18 kills, 25 assists and 14 digs) and Jacy Wolf (eight kills, 18 assists and 12 digs). Daniela Lee garnered 12 kills and Berkley Groos 29 digs for Colman-Egan (23-10).

Friday: Consolation semifinals (Freeman vs. Northwestern, 11:15 a.m. and Castlewood vs. Colman-Egan, 1:15 p.m.) and semifinals (Warner vs. Wolsey-Wessington, 5 p.m. and Burke vs. Chester Area, 6:45 p.m.)

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Defending champs reach semis in South Dakota state volleyball tourney