Tigers finish undefeated in Huron Invitational

HURON — The Huron Tigers were among three teams that emerged from the round-robin Huron Invitational volleyball matches Saturday, at Huron Arena and at the Huron Middle School Gymnasium.
The Tigers downed Sturgis 25-12, 25-10; took out S.F. Lincoln 25-23, 24-26 and 25-21; held off ESD foe Brandon Valley 25-21, 17-25 and 25-22, before ending with a 25-7, 25-21 pounding of Douglas High School.
“For a relatively young team on the floor, I thought we competed really hard and were able to gain a ton of experience,” said Tiger coach Shelly Buddenhagen. “Coming into the first day of competition, we weren’t quite sure what kind of personality we would have, and we are happy with everyone’s first performances.”
Sioux Fall O’Gorman, which finished 8th in last fall’s Class “AA” State tournament, also came through its four matches unscathed, defeating Brookings, Douglas, Mitchell and Watertown.
The third undefeated team was Sioux Falls Christian, the lone Class “A” team in attendance and the defending state champion at that level.
The Chargers defeated S.F. Washington, Spearfish, Watertown and Brookings in the meet. Other participating teams, who finished 3-1 were Mitchell and S.F. Washington, while S.F. Lincoln closed 2-2 on the day.

Brookings and Watertown finished 1-3, while Sturgis, Douglas and Spearfish all ended the day winless.
Huron statistics were available for three of its four matches. Through those three matches, Hollee Niehus chalked up 33 kills, including 16 against Brandon Valley. Mikena Moore added 17 kills and Alaina Dale accounted for 11.
“Hollee had a terrific day and was tough to defend. Havyn had a great day of passing and anchored our receive game. Those two basically put us on their backs and made some big plays at crucial times,” Coach Buddenhagen said.
Tenley Buddenhagen dealt out 64 set assists in three matches, which included a 27-assist effort against Brandon Valley and 22 against Lincoln. Buddenhagen also ended the day with nine service aces.
Defensively, libero Havyn Heinz accounted for 65 digs.
“Mikena Moore was also solid at the net and Tenley Buddenhagen had a pretty good day running the offense for the first time as the varsity setter,” Coach Buddenhagen noted. “Our younger hitters, Libby Rounds, Brooke Schiltz, and Alaina Dale all gained experience and gave solid efforts in their first varsity starts.”
Huron travels to Brookings on Tuesday night, then plays in Watertown Thursday.

PHOTOS BY MIKE CARROLL/PLAINSMAN
Huron’s Hollee Niehus plays a volley as teammate Havyn Heinz looks on during a match against Sioux Falls Lincoln on Saturday in the Huron Invitational at Huron Arena.

Next, Huron’s Morgan Harrison plays a volley during a match against Sioux Falls Lincoln on Saturday.