RAPID CITY – Too much experience, too many options, and in the end too much firepower.

Two-time defending state champion Chester Area pulled away from Herreid-Selby Area in each set on the way to a 25-12, 25-18, 25-13 opening round win at the State B Volleyball Tournament Thursday morning at The Monument.

“I’ve been teaching these girls to play with composure and I don’t think we were very composed today,” said HSA coach Maria Sandmeier. “They’d make big plays and we weren’t able to answer back, and they kind of knocked our confidence a little bit.”

The Wolverines are making their first state tourney appearance since 2017.

“This is our first time here for all of these girls,” Sandmeier said. “Chester, those girls are veterans.”

Chester led just 8-6 in the first set before the Flyers gradually pulled away to claim a one-set advantage.

“In set one, kudos to the Lady Wolverines. They made us feel uncomfortable for quite a while until kind of near the end of the set when I think we kind of found our groove,” said Chester Area coach Jean O’Hara. “I feel that’s really the way volleyball works. It’s kind of about trying to control the pace of the ball, the tempo of the match, the momentum and to make the other team uncomfortable, and we just maybe had a few more opportunities at that today.”

Sets two and three were similar with the Flyers leading 9-8 in both sets before pulling away for the sweep.

Herreid-Selby Area standout hitter Jordyn Rossow finished with a team-leading 11 kills, but had to work to try to find open spots on the other side of the net.

“Their defense is always moving,” Rossow said, “so we just need to able to see the court when we’re up hitting, and work around their block and see where they’re not, and just hit those spots.”

Rossow relied on her teammates to tell her where to hit the ball.

“I was just trying to see where their block was to see which side was open,” Rossow said, “and just trusting my teammates to tell me what the open spots were.”

Rossow definitely got the Flyers’ attention from the opening serve, but Chester Area was up to the challenge.

“Jordyn Rossow is just a good player. Boy, she brings a lot at the net,” O’Hara said. “She changes just the way you have to do things.”

While Rossow definitely made an impact, the Flyers took advantage when she rotated to the back row.

“Good on Herreid-Selby. I thought coach had a really good plan for them on how to come at us,” O’Hara said. “I thought that worked at times, and then I think they were maybe a little more vulnerable when she had to go in the back row. It opened up our opportunities a little bit more.”

Meanwhile, Chester Area’s versatile offense was on full display as the Flyers worked from pin to pin to put major pressure on the Wolverines’ defense.

“They have a variety of really great hitters,” said Herreid-Selby Area Libero Alyssa Kaup who led the team with 18 digs. “I think it’s just important for us to just keep our good head space and know that this was going to be one of our toughest games.”

Because of multiple hitting and setting options, Rossow said it was difficult to try and slow down the Flyers.

“They have good setters. They’re hard to read,” Rossow said. “You just had to be quick and hope that you could cover some of the court. … It was just trying to get to the ball and put up some sort of block.”

As a result, Chester Area spent a good share of time on offense, while the Wolverines spent most of their time playing defense.

“They had us scrambling defending, defending, defending, and plays that we weren’t able to transition and put defense to offense, then they were just packing offense,” Sandmeier said. “It was hard to answer some of that, but we had a good solid run there in the second set, and I’m proud of them, but I just wish we could have maintained our confidence a little bit more.”

The Wolverines (26-7) will take on Parkston in consolation action at 11 this morning.

Look for some of those nerves to be replaced by a little extra motivation for Herreid-Selby Area.

“I think practice (Wednesday) helped us get used to the gym, but it’s just electric,” Kaup said. We have a good fan base, a lot of people supporting us. That’s really important. We’ll get used to it. I think we got used it as the game went on.”

The Wolverines plan on coming out with a little something to prove today.

“We just gotta come in with more intensity,” Rossow said. “I think we’re all mad about it, because we know we could have played better.”

Serving: Herreid-Selby Area 3 aces (Breanna Jochim 2, Jordyn Rossow 1); Chester Area 3 aces (Elise Van Hal 2, Emmerson Eppard 1).

Hitting: Herreid-Selby Area 22 kills (Rossow 11, Jochim 7); Chester Area 37 kills (Eppard 11, Jacy Wolf 10, Lily Van Hal 6, Katelyn Schut 5).

Setting: Herreid-Selby Area 22 assists (Katie Allbee 20); Chester Area 36 assists (L. Van Hal 19, Wolf 13).

Digs: Herreid-Selby Area 38 (Alyssa Kaup 18, Allbee 6, Jochim 5, Brookly Helm 4, Rossow 4); Chester Area 60 (Wolf 13, L. Van Hal 12, Eppard 9, Gracie Huntimer 8).

Blocks: Herreid-Selby Area 6 assists (Jessie Johnson 2, Rossow 2); Chester Area 2 solo 12 assists (Emilie Bleeker 1 solo 2 assists, Schut 1 solo, Gracie Mersch 3 assists, L. Van Hal 3 assists).

Records: Herreid-Selby Area 26-7; Chester Area 31-1.