VOLGA Sioux Valley will be competing in the Class A State Volleyball Tournament for the first time since 2017 this weekend. The Cossacks will be the No. 7 seed and will take on No. 2 seeded Hamlin in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls.
The Cossacks (24-6) advanced to the state tournament last week after they beat Hill City in the SoDak 16. Sioux Valley was the No. 11 seed in the SoDak 16 and came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the No. 6 seeded Rangers in five sets.
Sioux Valley advanced to the SoDak 16 after beating Great Plains Lutheran in four sets in the Region 2A Playoffs. The Cossacks trailed in that match 1-0 and Sioux Valley head coach Jill Vincent said she thinks the Cossacks can take the momentum and confidence that they got from those matches into the state tournament.
Right now is kind of refreshing. Weve been playing with momentum and a high confidence, and that carries over from those two matches into the state tournament. Were a fun team to watch right now. We dont really give up on any ball and if we get down a couple points we just have that confidence that we come back and tie it back up, Vincent said.
Hamlin (24-1) handed Sioux Valley one of its six losses this season as the Chargers beat the Cossacks in five sets on Oct. 8. Each set was fairly close. The Chargers won the first set 25-23 but the Cossacks responded with a 26-24 victory in set two. Hamlin then won set three 25-21 but Sioux Valley came back with a 25-21 win of its own in set four. The Chargers then ran away with things in the final set, winning 15-8.
Vincent said theres a few things that the Cossacks need to do better if they want to come out on top on Thursday, but she was pleased with the way they played in October.
I think both teams are different teams than when we played in October, Vincent said. Its always nice to face an opponent that you know a little bit about and already have some background and history on. I think we have to serve receive better and have better passes up to our setters.
But for the most part, we were able to get some kills and do some things. As we move the ball around well want to be able to focus on getting that first pass up there and then make good decisions with the set and be able to attack them.
Sioux Valley is led by a pair of seniors that play all over. Kaedyn Sapp and Adison Renkly have combined for over 600 kills and 600 digs this season. Sapp has 319 kills and 347 digs and Renkly has 316 kills and 253 digs.
Vincent said Sapp and Renkly have done everything for the Cossacks this season, but other players have stepped up around them.
They have been great senior leaders for us, Vicent said. Kaedyn hits from the outside and Adison from the middle and we move them around a bit here and there. But theyve been able to do some serve receive for us and work out of the back row and the front row. They do all of those things.
But in addition to Kaedyn and Adison, Lacey [Langland], Emma [Gorvin] and Keyra [Kruse] have been really hitting the ball well. They havent necessarily been putting up big numbers, but to get their six to 10 kills every match is impressive. I feel like that gives Kaedyn and Adison some leeway and the other team cant just focus on those two and have to stop everybody thats in that front row.
The Cossacks play mostly upperclassmen with eight juniors and six seniors. Those players were part of a team that went 14-16 last season and Vincent said the turnaround happened because the players believe in their abilities this season.
This year we carry ourselves with a lot of confidence and poise on the court. We know what we want to do with the ball and have a little more ownership of our own abilities, and that allows us to do our job and then have our teammates do whatever they need to do to be successful as well, Vincent said.
The other matchups in Class A on Thursday include No. 1 Miller against No. 8 Sioux Falls Christian at 11 a.m., No. 4 Dakota Valley versus No. 5 Mount Vernon/Plankinton at 12:45 p.m. and No. 3 Dell Rapids taking on No. 6 Winner at 6:45 p.m. The Cossacks did not play any of the other teams this season.
With it being the first time Sioux Valley has been in the state tournament in seven years, Vincent said shes excited to finish off this journey with this group because it means a lot to the community and everyone involved.
Im looking forward to spending one more weekend with the team. Its nice to see them grow from fifth and sixth grade to juniors and seniors, and to have this special moment and get back into the State Tournament. You have a lot of excitement around Sioux Valley right now with all of our fall sports doing so well. To see the volleyball team follow that up with an exciting SoDak 16 win and a trip to the state tournament is good. Im just really proud of this group and it means a lot, Vincent said.
You can watch all of the state tournament action on South Dakota Public Broadcasting this weekend. The consolation semifinals and semifinals will be played Friday and the seventh, fifth, third and championship matchups will be played on Saturday.
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