SIOUX FALLS After falling in the quarterfinals to Warner on Thursday night, the Colman-Egan Hawks finished the Class B State Volleyball Tournament strong, defeating Gayville-Volin and Castlewood to win the consolation championship.
Its the second straight year that the Hawks rebounded to win the consolation title after dropping their first game of the tournament and C-E head coach Abigail Hemmer commended her team on the resilience to win their final two games.
I definitely couldnt be more proud of them, Hemmer said. They were on a mission and that first day was kind of a major setback, especially being as close as we were. But then we just set new goals for them.
Playing in their final high school volleyball matches were eight seniors, Addison Geigle, Presley Luze, Elaina Rhode, Savannah Schmidt, Kinzley Shafer Kaitlyn Taggart, Kaylee Voelker and Anna Zwart.
Friday: Colman-Egan 3, Gayville-Volin 0
The seventh-seeded Hawks played their second match of the tournament when they battled sixth-seeded Gayville-Volin on Friday afternoon. The Hawks made short work of the Raiders, winning the first two sets by scores of 25-17 and the third set by a score of 25-10.
I think that my girls were just extremely locked in, Hemmer said of the win over the Raiders. A lot of people were nervous that after Thursday nights game and a heartbreak loss [to Warner], it would be a setback. But they put it behind them and they know how they wanted to finish the tournament.
Hemmer also credited her seniors Anna Zwart, Elaina Whode, Kinzley Shafer, Kaitlyn Taggart, Kaylee Voelker, Savanna Schmidt, Addison Geigle and Presley Luze for choosing to finish their career on a high note.
Having that many seniors and veteran players, they knew it was their time, Hemmer said. It was just asking them How do you want to end your career? They all just kind of did their roles, played out of their mind and got it done.
Brynlee Landis led the Hawks offensively with 13 kills while Elaina Rhode had 10 kills and Anna Zwart had five kills. Finley Luze also facilitated the offense with 15 assists and Kaylee Voelker had 14 assists.
Voelker and Rhode led the way from the service line with both recording a pair of aces. Finley Luze also had an ace.
Rhode had a team-high 19 digs. Voelker added 14 digs and Lanids had 13 digs. Presley Luze also added eight digs. Zwart and Voelker each had two blocks.
Maia Achen led the Raiders with six kills. Britton Scheetz had 20 assists. Jolie Westrum had four aces. Taylor Hoxeng led G-V with 15 digs while Westrum and Aliza Westrum each had four total blocks.
Saturday: Colman-Egan 3, Castlewood 2
The Hawks momentum from Friday carried into the consolation championship game as they took the first two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-19. But the Warriors battled back to win the third set 25-21 and the fourth set 25-22 to force a final set.
With the championship on the line, the Hawks and Warriors went back and forth before C-E won the title with a 19-17 win in the fifth set.
Hemmer believed that her teams execution helped fuel the win but so did the situation of playing a conference rival to earn a trophy.
We were matched up with two teams that we see regularly and sometimes thats a bad thing, Hemmer said. But they were playing for a trophy against a plaque and they were playing one of our conference opponents. Thats a big rivalry, so they definitely wanted it.
Landis led C-E with 21 kills while Rhode had 18 kills. Zwart had nine kills. Voelker and Finley Luze had five kills each.
Finley Luze had a team-high 29 assists and Savanna Schmidt had 26 assists.
The Hawks had eight aces from the service line with Presley Luze leading C-E with three aces. Schmidt and Landis had two aces each while Kinzley Shafer also had an ace.
Presley Luze had 26 digs while Elaina Rhode had 19 digs. Landis had 17 digs, Finley Luze had 11 digs and Voelker had eight digs.
Voelker led C-E with four total blocks while Williamson and Zwart had three blocks each. Finley Luze also had a pair of blocks.
Emerson Carter led the eighth-seeded Warriors with 18 kills. Cassidy Kirwan had 17 assists. Dayton Knecht had four aces. Nora Solberg had a team-high 24 digs. Ava Rumi and Cydin Kudrna had seven blocks.
For their work during the tournament Landis and Rhode were named to the All-Tournament team. Hemmer commended both players for their work throughout the year and their reputation as go-to players to help lead the Hawks to a 25-6 record.
They pretty much carried us, Hemmer said of Landis and Rhode. If one of them was off a little bit, the other took control when they would go to the front row. They were our go-to players. Theyre smart and figured out how to put the ball down for us and how to get a kill.
Hemmer also complimented Landis and Rhodes defensive ability in the back row.
They were just all over the place, making sure to get to every ball that was sent over, Hemmer said. They really got after it all season and two players we could always rely on to get a kill and get us out of some stressful situations.
It was a theme for the Hawks throughout the year, who managed to end their season on a high note.
This year has definitely been a roller coaster, but in the last half of the season, they really stepped up. Especially during our playoff run, Hemmer said. They all showed up and thats what we had talked about. Its a group effort and our games go way differently when all of them are there and doing their role. Whether its blocking for us, getting digs or serving aggressively. Just as a whole, theyve played so well and played together, which has just made us be successful in the best way.
Leave a Reply