Tiger volleyball postseason begins tonight - win and you’re in
Posted
Curt Nettinga of the Plainsman
HURON — Win and you’re in. End up on the short end of the score and you’re packing up the uniforms, taking a couple weeks off and beginning preparations for next year.
That is Class “AA” volleyball in the Sweet 16 era.
The Huron Tigers open postseason action tonight at Huron Arena, when they host the Sioux Falls Roosevelt Rough Riders in what has to be termed a ‘play-in’ game, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at Huron Arena.
Huron ended the season with a record of 13-10 and the overall sixth highest power point average in Class “AA.” Roosevelt ended with a regular season mark of 12-19, and own the No. 11 seed.
A victory propels the winner into the Class “AA” State Tournament, which begins on Nov. 16 in Rapid City. No more district matchup or regional second chances.
“The regular season is over,” said Shelly Buddenhagen, Huron High School’s volleyball head coach. “It’s the post season and everybody is 0-0. The slate is clean.”
The Tigers and Rough Riders collided back in August at the Huron Invitational. With nearly a full season in between matches, what does Buddenhagen take from that earlier meeting to help tonight?
“Honestly, not much of anything,” she said with a chuckle. “That was so long ago that both teams have gone through so many changes since then. What’s most important is what has happened the past couple of weeks.”
Roosevelt has won four of its last five games, but had lost 10 of its previous 11 matches. Huron ended the season on a two-game winning streak, including a five-set win last Saturday over No. 2 seed Mitchell at the Corn Palace. Before that, the Tigers had dropped two matches, one of them a four-set loss to top-seeded Harrisburg.
“Right now, I sincerely believe we are playing the best volleyball we’ve played all season,” Buddenhagen said. “Mitchell was our best overall match this year.”
For Huron to be successful tonight, Buddenhagen said that her squad would need to be aware of 6-foot, 2-inch middle hitter Rylee Boyd, a returning All-Stater and the focus of the Rough Rider offense.
“She will probably see 75 percent of their sets on offense,” Buddenhagen said, “so she will receive most of our blocking attention. We blocked really well against Mitchell, and we will need to continue that tonight. Boyd is very good, and we are going to try to contain her as much as we can.”
Facing a taller player, with excellent hitting skills who is the focus of the opposition’s offense, is just another day at the office for the Tigers.
“Nah, it’s nothing new for us,” Buddenhagen said. “We have faced top hitters nearly every match. We’ll concentrate on positioning ourselves - our blockers and our back row - and work to get them out of system and cut down on the opportunities that Boyd has in the match.”
Defense is always top of mind for Buddenhagen but for the Tigers to be successful tonight, they will also need to continue the strong passing game that they have honed down the homestretch of the regular season.
“We kinda stopped looking at game-by-game matchups,” she said. “We need to do what we need to do. We’re passing well and have seen their type of serving often this year, so that won’t be a surprise. We’re going to need to adapt as we go on offense and move our hitters around and pick our spots.”
Hollee Niehus and Kayla Schimke have led the Tiger offense this year, with Mikenna Moore, Tracy Albrecht, Carli Lentsch and Melissa Burg stepping in when they have the opportunity. In addition, Jayda Shillingstad, one of the top setters in the state, has been able to get some quality swings in the offense, when Tenley Buddenhagen steps in to handle setting duties.
Defensively, Havyn Heinz has been a mainstay all season. Alexis Urena and Isabella Ford have also been solid performers in Buddenhagen’s “Littles” army.
Perhaps best of all, for the first time since the season began, the Tigers are healthy,
“I have to say that this is the most healthy we’ve been all season,” Buddenhagen said. “Jayda’s feeling much better and Havyn has had some back issues, but we are healthy and playing well. It’s a good time to do both, I would say.”
Photos:
Under the watchful eye of coach Shelly Buddenhagen, Huron’s Carli Lentsch makes a kill attempt during the Huron Ivitational Tournament earlier this season.
Photo by Angelina Della Rocco/plainsman file
Next, Huron Tiger Tenley Buddenhagen, center, splits the defense of Brooklyn Kusler, left and Lexi LaFave, right, of Aberdeen Central, during a match in September in Aberdeen.
