SIOUX FALLS It was a tough, back-and-forth match, but in the end, the championship experience of the Warner Monarchs showed through in a three-set sweep of the Hitchcock-Tulare Lady Patriots Friday in semifinal action at the Class B South Dakota State Volleyball Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls.
The Monarchs move to 33-4 with set scores of 25-20, 25-23, and 25-20.
Hitchcock-Tulare started out strong, using a big cross-court kill by Katelyn Schroeder, a block by Schroeder and Isabel Gilbert, and an ace serve from Lila Jo Johnson to jump out to a 4-1 lead.
Warner would storm back, though, following the strong hitting of eighth-grader Miah Leidholt on the outside to go on a 5-0 run to take a 9-6 lead.
The Monarchs controlled the match from that point forward, with the Lady Patriots making a run to bring it within 19-17 on an ace serve by Gilbert, but they couldnt slow down the Warner attack, with Miah Leidholt and MaKenna Leidholt nailing Warners final three points for a 25-20 first-set victory.
The Lady Patriots again jumped out quickly in the second set, with a big Schroeder kill opening the set, and a Gilbert kill, another powerful Schroeder swing, and Gilberts second ace serve of the match pushing Hitchcock-Tulare out to a 5-1 lead to open the set.
This time, the Warner comeback was slower, but after a Schroeder kill made it 12-11, the Monarchs went on a 4-0 run to claim a 15-12 lead.
The Lady Patriots would follow the dominant hitting of Schroeder, who had nine kills in the set to climb back and play nip-and-tuck with the Monarchs, even reclaiming the lead at 22-21.
Warner 6-foot senior Kyleigh Schopp then got a kill and a block along with redirecting a hit that caused a Patriot hitting error, and MaKenna Leidholt slammed down her sixth kill of the set to make it 25-23 and give the Monarchs a 2-0 match lead.
The Monarchs were the ones to jump out early in the third set, building up an 8-4 lead with both teams playing to long rallies, but often the end result being a misplayed hit by the Lady Pats.
Down 16-9, the Patriots got a kill from Schroeder and an ace from Gilbert, but on the ensuing play, a disputed call on a Monarch attack let to Patriots coach Jordan Opp receiving a red card, making the score quickly 18-11.
The hitting of Ella Johnson would bring Hitchcock-Tulare back into it for one last gasp, but after being quite on the attack most of the set, MaKenna Leidholt pounded a pair of kills to open up a 23-19 lead and Jaycee Jung nailed the final two kills for Warner to claim a 25-20 set victory and the three-set sweep.
The Monarchs were led by MaKenna Leidholt on the attack with 14 kills. Schopp added nine kills and four blocks.
Libby Scepaniak (20 assists) and Reagan Wood (18 assists) shared setting duties, while libero Jordyn Jensen paced the defense with 18 digs.
The Lady Patriots fall to 32-3 despite 15 kills, 15 digs, and four blocks from Schroeder. Gilbert had three service aces, and Gracyn Bixler added two aces.
Lila Jo Johnson set up the offense with 17 assists, and Cambree Hoekman led the defense with 17 digs.
Warner will move on to face defending champion Chester for the Class B championship tonight after the Lady Patriots tangle with Burke for third place.
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