RAPID CITY – Castlewood fought hard, but fell short on Saturday evening.

The Warriors suffered a 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 setback to Burke in the third-place match at the Class B State Volleyball Tournament at The Monument.

Castlewood coach Breanna DeKam said that despite finishing the season with a loss, the positives outweighed the negatives.

“After any loss we’re disappointed, but I’m really proud of my team,” DeKam said. “It’s not one game, it’s the whole season. You worked all season to get to this point, and we earned fourth place. That’s awesome.”

Castlewood began the opening set with momentum, building a lead by as many as seven points.

However, with the Warriors leading 20-16, Burke called a timeout. The Cougars then proceeded to end the set on a 9-2 run, stealing the first set, and the momentum, away from Castlewood.

“I think they started making adjustments and we didn’t adjust quick enough,” DeKam said. “We kind of got down on ourselves and we needed to make adjustments sooner.”

Despite attempts from Castlewood to close the second set with a win, Burke held onto the lead for much of the set. Down 20-15, the Warriors made a comeback effort, knotting the score up at 22 apiece. But once again, the Cougars finished strong, putting the Warriors in an even deeper hole.

Castlewood senior Karli Akin said fatigue and emotions became a factor before and during the match.

“I think we were definitely tired. We were emotional,” Akin said. “We’re definitely senior loaded, but it’s a very emotional day. We all cried right before the pep rally and all, but I think we all played like a team.”

The Warriors began set three by scoring the first three points, but Burke answered with a 10-0 run. Down, but not out, Castlewood crawled back into the set with a 7-2 run of its own, cutting the deficit down to 12-10. However, the Warriors could never find the formula to pull ahead, and Burke completed the sweep.

DeKam said the team lacked energy during the third set.

“We had a lot of comebacks and that takes a lot of energy out of us after three days, and we just couldn’t pull it out,” DeKam said.

Despite the loss, it was the first time in school history that Castlewood had made it to the championship side of the state tournament bracket, which also meant it was the highest finish for the Warriors at a state volleyball tournament.

“It’s really cool,” Akin said. “Because a lot of us seniors didn’t really get a chance to play a lot last year. It was just a couple, and it’s really cool to see all of us get to be a family and be together as a team.”

Akin was excited to represent the town of Castlewood at the state tourney.

“It means a lot, because if you kind of look at us we’re known a lot as a basketball town and we like to make a statement that we’re a volleyball town too, and we can play in every state tournament that we possibly can get to,” Akin said.

Presley Knecht powered the Warriors with 16 kills to go along with 11 digs.

DeKam was proud of what her seniors accomplished this season.

“They have put a lot of effort into this,” DeKam said. “I have seven seniors and I’m very proud of them all to rally the whole team together to get us here. They did awesome this year.”

DeKam hopes that back-to-back state tournament trips will fuel the volleyball program in the coming years.

“It definitely helps motivate our younger girls,” DeKam said. “They see all this happening and they want to be here, and that’s great. It motivates them to work hard, to get better, to come back.”

Serving: Castlewood 2 aces (Gracie Haug 2); Burke 5 aces (Emmie Hausmann 2, Ava Sargent 2, Kailee Frank 1).

Hitting: Castlewood 37 kills (Presley Knecht 16, Emerson Carter 10, Cassidy Kirwan 8); Burke 37 kills (Hausmann 14, Frank 11, Paige Bull 8).

Setting: Castlewood 35 assists (Haug 33); Burke 36 assists (Sargent 18, Bridget Eliason 12).

Digs: Castlewood 40 digs (Knecht 11, Kaily Larson 8, Haug 5, Nora Solberg 5); Burke 60 digs (Frank 15, Elle Johnson 13, Kyrie Matucha 7, Hausmann 7).

Blocks: Castlewood 1 solo 10 assists (Carter 1 solo 3 assists, Kelly Goens 2 assists, Haug 2 assists, Ella Hunter 2 assists); Burke 3 solo 12 assists (Paige Bull 1 solo 4 assists, Frank 1 solo 1 assist, Hausmann 1 solo 1 assist, Piper Hanson 3 assists, Johanna Vaughn 2 assists).

Records: Castlewood 22-10; Burke 33-5.