SIOUX FALLS – One day after being put in a foreign position, the Miller volleyball team found its comfort zone on Friday morning.

The Rustlers overcame a slow start, relied on its staples, and recorded a 21-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-18 win over Mount Vernon-Plankinton in consolation action during the Class A State Volleyball Tournament at the Sanford Premier Center.

“We were back to connecting with our hitters, and running what’s gotten us here in the first place,” said Miller coach Linda DeBoer, “which is our balance back and forth, and using everybody up front, so that was good.”

Not only that, but the Rustlers got a big boost from Jolie Palmer. While only a sophomore, the Libero has big match experience from last year’s state tournament.

“Jolie made some outstanding plays in the back row …. We rely on her a lot to get us going,” DeBoer said, “especially in transition, and she did that today which allows Olivia (Resel) to get everybody the ball.”

Resel, a senior setter, had no trouble doing that, racking up 45 set assists in the victory.

The Rustlers had four different players with at least nine kills in the match.

“It’s just nice to have a team that you can set anywhere and you know it’s going to get put down,” Resel said. “We don’t rely on just one hitter. We rely on everyone.”

That balanced attack keeps opposing defenses on their toes, trying to anticipate where the hits might be coming from.

“I think that really helps us,” Resel said. “The defenders never know where we’re coming from, outside, right side.”

Not only does the balanced offense thwart opponents, it boosts the morale for the Rustlers, according to DeBoer.

“We just feed off of each other for the good,” DeBoer said. “They play for each other, not just with each other, and they get so excited when somebody else is successful, and that just fires them up to get the next one.”

Like their match against perennial power Sioux Falls Christian on Thursday, the Rustlers lost the opening set against MVP, but this time, they responded in a big way instead of getting swept.

“(Thursday) we were really nervous. We had some new people coming on the court and we hadn’t really experienced a state tournament, like the pressure of it,” said Miller senior Aleah Schlechter, who led the team with 14 kills on Friday, “and then coming in playing the reigning, defending … state champion, that’s a lot of pressure, and also with the name of number one on our back, I think (Thursday) we didn’t really play our game very well. And today we came in with the energy, we came in trusting our training, and came in trusting our fundamentals that we practice every single day.”

As the match wore on the Rustlers became more and more aggressive and eventually took control.

It was Miller’s second four-set win over Mount Vernon-Plankinton this season, and DeBoer said it was good to face a familiar team and give the squad some confidence after dropping the opening set.

“After the first set we figured we’re here to play smarter, not harder and we settled into our game again,” DeBoer said. “Once it started clicking it was good.”

Kate Lichty added 10 kills, and Paige Werdel and Kaihlyn Anderberg each finished with nine.

Northern State basketball recruit Reagan Rus topped MVP with 18 kills.

Miller, 29-2 on the season, will try to cap off the season with a consolation championship when it takes on Sioux Valley for fifth place at 1:45 this afternoon.

“Fifth place sounds great. I think we’ve just go to do what we did today,” DeBoer said. “We have to come and play our game, and serve aggressively, and have good first-ball contacts, and keep the momentum on our side.”

The match is also important for other reasons, according to Schlechter.

“It’s our senior year, so we want to go out on a high note, but also we’ve had such a phenomenal season,” Schlechter said. “We’ve built so many bonds and we’ve made a name for Miller volleyball, and we want to put a staple on that to end our season.”

Serving: Mount Vernon-Plankinton 3 aces (Madalynn Lorgan 1, Alyssa Johnson 1, Brooklyn Bosma 1); Miller 10 aces (Paige Werdel 3, Kate Lichty 2, Jolie Palmer 2).

Hitting: Mount Vernon-Plankinton 35 kills (Reagan Rus 18, Lorang 13); Miller 50 kills (Aleah Schlechter 14, Lichty 10, Paige Werdel 9, Kailyn Anderberg 9).

Setting: Mount Vernon-Plankinton 32 assists (Johnson 27); Miller 48 assists (Olivia Resel 45).

Digs: Mount Vernon-Plankinton 94 (Aleix Hauge 22, Johnson 21, Lorang 18, Rus 16); Miller 99 (Palmer 29, Schlechter 15, Anderberg 13, Resel 13, Gracen Werdel 11).

Blocks: Mount Vernon-Plankinton 3 solo 2 assists ((Taryn Hegg 3 solo 1 assist); Miller 8 assists (Schlechter 3, Lichty 3).

Record: Mount Vernon-Plankinton 27-7; Miller 29-2.