HURON After compiling a 28-1 record this season, the Miller Rustlers will be the No. 1 seed for the Class A State Volleyball Tournament, which begins Thursday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls.
The Rustlers are currently riding a 23-match win streak with their lone loss this season coming to Warner out of Class B on Sept. 10.
The girls have worked extremely hard to earn that #1 rating, playing a very competitive schedule full of Class B and Class A teams, said Miller ooach Linda DeBoer.
Miller will face eighth-seeded Sioux Falls Christian, which is the defending Class A champion with a 25-12 record, in the opening match of the tournament at 11 a.m. Thursday.
I was surprised as we watched their seed points the last couple of weeks, DeBoer said of meeting the defending champion in the opening round. They are playing their best right now it appears, and we look forward to the opportunity to play such a great team.
In the other matchups set for the opening round on Thursday, fourth-seeded Dakota Valley (29-5) will face No. 5 Mt. Vernon/Plankinton (27-5) at 12:45 p.m.; second-seeded Hamlin (24-1) will face No. 7 Sioux Valley (24-6) at 5 p.m.; and third-seeded Dell Rapids (29-3) will face No. 6 Winner (26-6) at 6:45 p.m.
This years Class A tournament is filled with great teams that come from very strong programs across that state, DeBoer said.
The Rustlers, who are seeking their first state volleyball title, will be making their 14th appearance in the state tournament. It is the third year in a row at the state tourney for Miller.
DeBoer is looking for the same factors that propelled her team during the regular season to lend themselves to success in the tourney.
A balanced, versatile offense has helped us be successful this year. We have worked hard at a faster offense, she said. The relationship between the players has allowed them to have great rapport on and off the court.
Junior Paige Werdel and senior Aleah Schlechter have led the Rustlers offensive attack this season. Werdel tallied 300 kills this season on 825 attacks, while Schlechter has amassed 220 kills on 582 attacks.
Werdel also has 55 ace serves this season, which puts her second on the team behind junior Jolie Palmer, who has 79 aces.
Senior Olivia Resel has guided Millers offense from the setter position. She hss 830 assists this season, including her 1,000th career assist, which came during the SoDak 16 match against Lakota Tech on Nov. 12.
Defensively, Palmer leads the Rustlers with 484 digs, while Schlechter has 244 digs. Junior Gracen Werdel has 172 digs.
Junior Kate Lichty has a team-high 50 blocks, while Schlechter has 40 blocks.
The winners from Thursdays matches will move to the semifinals at 5 and 6:45 p.m. Friday, with the losers meeting in the consolation semifinals beginning at 11 a.m. Friday.
The seventh-place match is slated for 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by the consolation championship match at 12:45 p.m., the third-place match at 5 p.m., and the championship match at 6:45 p.m.
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