COLMAN The Colman-Egan Hawks will march into a familiar setting at the Class B State Tournament this weekend. Playing at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, theyll have plenty of support from a community that will head down Interstate 29 and there will be a ton of black and gold in the stands for their opening match against Warner at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
But while this will be the fifth straight trip to the State Tournament, the Hawks will still be looking for their first championship as they lean on their experience and fundamentals to make a run in a wide-open field.
I tell our girls all the time that even when we play in our region and the SoDak 16, records and season points are kind of wide open, C-E head coach Abigail Hemmer said. We have a tough regionso going into the SoDak 16 and even at the State Tournament, you could see upsets anywhere in any matchup. Theyre all going to be close battles and tight matches and its just about who can show up, withstand the pressure and take control from there.
The pressure is not an unknown for the Hawks. C-E has eight seniors on the roster and five of the seven players in the Hawks rotation have had significant experience playing at the State Tournament.
Off the court, it helps the players and coaches plan a routine that includes meals, open gym times, and other aspects of getting ready for their game. But on the court, it helps them control some of the nerves that had been there on previous trips.
Theres still a lot of nerves and anticipation for the weekend, but we have a better idea how to control those nerves and how to compete in large atmospheres, Hemmer said. Weve played in them multiple times now, whereas your first year going there, everything is so brand new and youre not used to a State Tournament at the PREMIER Center. That definitely helps us having been there before.
It also helps that the Hawks have had a tremendous season on the court. C-E arrives at the State Tournament with a 24-5 record and a big reason has been their offense. Junior Brynlee Landis leads the Hawks with 399 kills and a .271 efficiency rating this year while senior Eliana Rhode (206 kills, .200 efficiency rating) has also been a main source of offense.
With freshman Finley Luze playing a versatile game with 170 kills, 358 assists and a .180 efficiency rating the senior combination of Anna Zwart (149 kills, .151 efficiency rating) and setter Kaylee Voelker (504 assists, 106 kills, .155 efficiency rating) give the Hawks a complete cast of weapons that can score from anywhere.
I think we have a lot of really strong hitters and smart hitters, Hemmer said. Thats definitely kind of been our lethal point or main advantage. It just kind of depends on who shows up. When they all show up and do really well its an easy night for us. So Im hoping that we can utilize and trust each one of them to have a consistent game and do their job for us this weekend.
C-Es defense has also been a reason for their success. Zwart (80 blocks) and sophomore Michoen Williamson (64 blocks) have had a strong presence at the net but Finley Luze (56 blocks), Voelker (46 blocks) and Landis (32 blocks) give the Hawks five players with over a block per game this season.
Hemmer also credits the play of the back row led by senior Presley Luze (436 digs) and Landis (352 digs) for providing steady play even when the Hawks havent been at their best.
Theyre pretty much veteran players back there, Hemmer said of the back line. Theyve played with each other long enough that theyre good at communicating, especially when things go in areas that we cant get to. Theyre always thinking about who is going to get the ball next time or how were going to adjust and thats been really good for our team.
The Hawks will need both areas in sync when they take on a Warner team is the second team in the tournament with a 31-4 record. While the Monarchs enter Thursdays match on a 15-match winning streak, theyve built that streak in dominating fashion, winning their last 33 sets including sweeps of Waverly-South Shore, Aberdeen Christian and Faulkton Area to reach Sioux Falls.
They always have a very smart team no matter what personnel they have, Hemmer said of the Monarchs, who were the Class B runner-up last season. They are just smart at placing the ball, knowing how to hit hard and they can serve very aggressively. They know how to be effective in long rallies and get points in critical situations.
Hemmer also stressed that communication and execution in serve-receive are key.
In those long rallies, we cant be disorganized, where you have two girls overlapping each other and loving those corners wide open, Hemmer said. Then, were just going to have to be able to serve-receive. Sometimes we really struggle with that, but weve had a lot of conversations about it and Im hoping they can keep that under control and we can be aggressive early.
While both teams have plenty of experience, the Hawks have had a challenging road including a regional tournament with all seven teams above .500 and a SoDak 16 win against Edgemont, who entered last weeks match with a record of 30-5.
Put it all together and it should lead to an entertaining quarterfinal matchup and one the Hawks hope their experience will guide them through.
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