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Breaking down the South Dakota Prep Media volleyball poll for Sept. 11: Ranked matchups spur little movement

landon dierks, the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·4 min read

Sep. 11—MITCHELL — Despite a slate marked with several matchups between ranked teams over the past week, the results produced little movement within the South Dakota Prep Media polls.

From last week to this, 14 of 15 teams with a ranking maintained a place in their respective top fives, with just three teams receiving a different ranking than the one they held a week ago.

Here's what to know about this week's polls:

While the same five teams occupy the rankings in Class AA from last week, Sioux Falls Jefferson moved up to No. 2, swapping places with Sioux Falls Washington, which slid to No. 3.

The Cavalier and Warriors went head-to-head last week, with Jefferson claiming a 3-0 sweep at the WHS

As a result, Harrisburg gained unanimous control of the No. 1 ranking this week, taking all first-place votes after Washington held on to one last week.

In the other Class AA ranked matchup of the week, Watertown swept Huron in an Eastern South Dakota Conference match. Both the Arrows and Tigers maintained their rankings from last week, slotting in at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

Among the squads with multiple matches played, nine unbeatens remain entering the week of Sept. 11: Harrisburg (8-0) and Sioux Falls Jefferson (4-0) in Class A; Mobridge-Pollock (8-0), Pine Ridge (5-0) and Dakota Valley (4-0) in Class A; and Warner (15-0), Chester (11-0), Faith (9-0) and Wall (5-0) in Class B. (For what it's worth, Class A No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian (12-1) is still unbeaten against South Dakota opponents, its lone loss to Hinton, Iowa.)

Sioux Falls Christian and Warner both went 7-0 in match record last week, losing one total set each across those matches to reaffirm their places atop Class A and Class B, respectively.

Last week, the top five in Class AA had a combined record of 6-2, with both losses coming to other ranked opponents (Jefferson over Washington and Watertown over Huron). Class A was similar, as the top four — Sioux Falls Christian, Dakota Valley, Wagner and Dell Rapids — went 11-0, while No. 5 Madison went 1-2 with losses to Sioux Falls Christian and Class B No. 3 Northwestern.

Class B was only slightly more unpredictable. Warner and Chester combined to go 11-0, while No. 3 Northwestern went 2-1, with the loss coming to Warner. Last week's No. 4 Burke, the lone team across all three classes to fall out of the rankings this week, went 3-3, dropping matches to O'Neill St. Mary's (Neb.), Warner and Arlington. Meanwhile, No. 5 Colman-Egan was clipped in five sets by Class A Estelline/Hendricks.

* Castlewood returns to the Class B top five this week with its highest ranking of the season at No. 4. The Warriors are now 6-1 on the season, with their lone blemish coming in a four-set loss to Class A Elkton-Lake Benton, who was receiving votes in the polls up until this week. Castlewood takes the place of Burke, who is now receiving votes.

* Faulkton Area has fallen out of the receiving votes section in Class B, while Faith and Wolsey-Wessington join the conversation this week.

* Despite being undefeated, Mobridge-Pollock remains on the outside looking in at the Class A rankings, while Faith does the same in Class B. The Tigers received five votes this week, up from one a week ago, and the Longhorns received their first votes of the season this week.

* Platte-Geddes joined Mobridge-Pollock in the receiving votes section of Class A, as the Black Panthers increased their vote total from one to six over the past week.

* For the first time this season, O'Gorman did not receive any votes toward the Class AA poll. The Knights did not play a match last week.

The South Dakota Prep Media volleyball polls for the week of Sept. 11 are listed below, ranking the top five teams in each class. First-place votes received are indicated in parentheses.

Class AA

1. Harrisburg (15), 8-0, 75; 2. Sioux Falls Jefferson, 4-0, 60; 3. Sioux Falls Washington, 3-1, 43; 4. Watertown, 6-2, 31; 5. Huron, 6-1, 10.

Also receiving votes: Sioux Falls Lincoln 4, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 1, Aberdeen Central 1.

Class A

1. Sioux Falls Christian (15), 12-1, 75; 2. Dakota Valley, 4-0, 54; 3. Wagner, 8-1, 45; 4. Dell Rapids, 5-1, 30; 5. Madison, 9-2, 10.

Also receiving votes: Platte-Geddes 6, Mobridge-Pollock 5.

Class B

1. Warner (14), 15-0, 74; 2. Chester Area (1), 11-0, 61; 3. Northwestern, 7-3, 44; 4. Castlewood, 6-1, 22; 5. Colman-Egan, 4-1, 12.

Also receiving votes: Burke 5, Faith 5, Wolsey-Wessington 2.