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SoDak 16 volleyball preview: Black Panthers battle ELB for return trip to Class A tournament

landon dierks and marcus traxler, the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·8 min read

Nov. 6—PLATTE, S.D. — A pair of programs in search of their third-straight state volleyball tournament appearances meet in the Class A SoDak 16, as No. 6 Platte-Geddes faces off with 11th-seeded Elkton-Lake Benton on Tuesday night at the Corn Palace.

The P-G versus ELB match will start at approximately 7 p.m., following a 5:30 p.m. match between No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian and No. 16 Bennett County.

During the regular season, the Black Panthers (30-6) and Elks (21-11) matched up in the Sanford Pentagon tournament on Sept. 23 in Sioux Falls, a 2-1 ELB victory. Set scores were 30-28, 24-26 and 25-15. In the seven-year history of the Class A SoDak 16, No. 6 seeds are 6-1 against No. 11 seeds.

Both teams are headlined by senior multi-time all-state talents in P-G's middle/right-side hitter Karly VanDerWerff and ELB's setter Tevan Erickson.

VanDerWerff, who was first-team all-state in Class B two seasons ago and second-team in Class A last season, leads the Black Panthers in kills (364) and blocks (64) while adding 326 digs and 56 service aces. Opposite, Erickson, a first-team all-state pick last season when the Elks finished as Class A runners-up, has put up 818 set assists along with a team-leading 426 digs and 54 aces, chipping in 78 blocks.

Alongside VanDerWerff, the Black Panthers have three more attackers with upward of 130 kills, including Cadence Van Zee, with 306 kills, 346 digs and 41 aces. Kori VanDerWerff owns 176 kills and 38 blocks, and Emerson Ringling has 133 kills and 35 blocks. In her first season as the starting setter, Baleigh Nachtigal has posted 895 assists, 203 digs and 40 aces, with Hadley Hanson adding 376 digs and 67 aces, both team-bests.

For the Elks, who finished second in Class A in 2022, Andrea Renkly and Kylie Ramlo power the attack. Renkley has recorded 261 kills and 38 aces, while Ramlo has added 235 kills, 130 blocks and 350 digs. Aubree Bales and Charlie Thooft have 176 kills and 149 kills, respectively, with Bales also chipping in 319 digs and 86 blocks. Ella Crofutt is second on the team with 376 digs.

Another program looking for a third-straight season of state tournament qualification, No. 9 Wagner clashes with No. 8 seed Mobridge-Pollock (26-7), which hasn't been to a state tournament since 2016. The match is set for 6:30 p.m. in Pierre.

Both teams started the season hot, with 12 consecutive wins for Mobridge-Pollock and Wagner winning nine of its first 10 matches. The Tigers lost four matches in the month of October to South Dakota opponents, with three of them (Aberdeen Roncalli, Groton Area and Warner) all playing on Tuesday night in the SoDak 16. Mobridge-Pollock is playing in the SoDak 16 for the seventh time and for the first time since winning in 2016, it is the higher-seeded team in its matchup and it's being played in Pierre, which was the site of the 2016 win over Pine Ridge.

Wagner has won eight of its last nine matches, avenging the only loss in that time to Parkston with a four-set win in the region playoffs to get to this point. This is Wagner's third consecutive appearance in the SoDak 16, defeating Elk Point-Jefferson in 2021 and Winner in 2022.

For the Red Raiders, sophomore Ashlyn Koupal leads the team in hitting with 291 kills, 365 digs and a .308 hitting percentage. Kya Kjeldgaard has 225 kills to her name and Aubrey Medricky and Ravyn Medricky each have more than 100 on the season. Macy Koupal powers the offense with 799 assists on the season and more than 3,000 for her career. Ravyn Medricky has 60 total blocks, while Shona Kocer has 58 blocks. Madi Knebel has 334 digs for the Red Raiders in the libero spot.

Since making its state tournament breakthrough in 2017, Burke (and Burke/South Central co-op before it) have become postseason regulars, as the 5-seed Cougars look for a sixth tournament berth in seven seasons against 12-seed Herreid/Selby Area. The match is set for 7 p.m. at the Chamberlain Armory. (The Class A match between Dell Rapids and Hill City will precede it at 5:30 p.m.)

For the second consecutive season, Burke (31-4) enters as a top-five seed, after holding the No. 2 seed in 2022. The Cougars closed the regular season by winning 24 of 25 matches, including a 21-match win streak at one point. Burke's losses this season came against Class A No. 9 Wagner, Class B No. 1 Warner, Arlington and O'Neill (Neb.) St. Mary's.

Kailee Frank took over the leading role in the Cougars' attack this season, owning 389 kills, 326 digs and 41 aces, while Emmie Hausmann has posted 283 kills and 67 aces. Paige Bull, at 6-foot-1, is a force at the net with 236 kills and 84 blocks. Facilitating the offense are Ava Sargent, who leads the team with 455 assists and 69 aces, and Bridget Eliason with 332 assists. Elle Johnson has a team-high 522 digs.

Meanwhile, HSA (21-6) is in the SoDak 16 for the second-straight season and third overall, with the Wolverines falling as the No. 10 seed last season and winning as the No. 7 seed in 2017. Twice in the six years of the SoDak 16 format in Class B has a No. 12 seed knocked off a No. 5, including last year when Freeman swept Jones County.

Tripp-Delmont/Armour will have a big task on Tuesday night, seeking to knock off No. 1-seeded and undefeated Warner in the SoDak 16 for a trip to the state tournament.

Seeded sixth in the region playoffs, the Nighthawks (11-15) reached the last 16 with a five-set Region 5B win over Avon on Nov. 2 in Bonesteel, which was their fourth win in their last five matches. It was powered by a 28-kill, nine-block effort from senior outside hitter Megan Reiner. Mia Reiner added 16 kills in the match and Kinley Spaans had 44 set assists for TDA. Under first-year head coach Kendal Lau, the Nighthawks are playing in the SoDak 16 for a second consecutive season, after falling last season as a No. 9 seed in a three-set sweep against Castlewood in Madison.

Ranked 49th in overall seed points prior to the start of the postseason, TDA has already beaten the odds to be one of the last 16 teams remaining in Class B. It is just the second Class B team all-time in SoDak 16 history to reach the state-qualifying round with a sub-.500 record, joined by Timber Lake in 2020.

In the SoDak 16 format for the seventh season, the two-time defending Class B champion Warner (36-0) has won its previous six appearances at this stage of the season and has been seeded either No. 1 or No. 2 in each of the last four seasons. This will be the third time since the SoDak 16 was created Warner will play at the Huron Arena for a trip to state, with wins in 2021 over Edgemont and 2019 over Freeman.

The Monarchs have won 55 matches in a row and are led by junior middle hitter Kyleigh Schopp, who is hitting .436 on the season and has 363 kills. Lauren Marcuson has 323 kills and Kyra Marcuson has 306 kills and a team-best 55 aces. It is all facilitated by senior setter Ava Nilsson, who has 787 assists this season and nearly 5,000 assists for her career, which has included four all-state first-team selections.

Playing in the SoDak 16 for the eighth season in a row, Winner will look for the upset in the Class A state-qualifying round when they face No. 2 Rapid City Christian.

Winner, seeded 15th in the Class A postseason, will face the Comets (32-5) in a match played at 6:30 p.m. Central at Rapid City Central High School.

The Warriors (13-17) got into the SoDak 16 with wins over Todd County and Lakota Tech, both 3-0 sweeps in the Region 7A tournament.

Junior middle hitter Keelie Kuil leads the team with 302 kills and 306 digs. Adysen Pravecek has 41 aces to her name, with 30 from Kuil. Cora Moss has 285 digs and Pravecek has 279 digs. Lelia Balsiger has 139 kills for the Warriors this season, while Alexis Klein leads the team with 448 assists and Lilly Barfuss has a team-best 41 blocks.

Winner last made the state tournament in 2020, which was the last appearance of three in a row for the Warriors. In 2022, Winner fell in three sets as the No. 16 seed against No. 1 Wagner in the SoDak 16.

Like Winner, Rapid City Christian has a long run of success getting to the SoDak 16, making a seventh-consecutive appearance. But the Comets have been knocked off as a higher seed two years in a row, falling to Parkston in 2021 and Elk Point-Jefferson in 2022.

Rapid City Christian last hosted a SoDak 16 volleyball match in 2018, when the Comets defeated crosstown rival St. Thomas More in five sets as the No. 12 seed.