CLARK – The Clark-Willow Lake Cyclones are storming into the State A Volleyball Tournament for the first time in 24 years.

The Cyclones, who have lost just one match all season, punched their ticket to the state tourney after a SODAK 16 win over Aberdeen Roncalli last week.

“Everything is just exciting. We’ve had so much support from the parents and the community, and it’s just fun,” said Clark-Willow Lake coach Betty McGraw. “We have a couple of daughters on the team, their moms were actually in that tournament. So, it’s pretty cool. There’s lots of full circle moments, and just lots of fun and support.”

McGraw said her players are excited to be playing in the tournament and ready to prove they belong.

“The hunger to get here, and the grit and the work to get to be here, whereas other teams they pretty well expect to be here every year. That isn’t something that we expect. You know we feel like we’ve had to really work hard,” McGraw said. “Every time we turn around, we have to prove ourselves to one more group of people. I think that just makes us extremely hungry for that win.”

The Cyclones are 25-1 on the season and have kept their eyes on the prize as they navigated their schedule.

“We’re really team-oriented and really goal-focused, so, we’re really focusing on working together to achieve this goal we had at the beginning of the year,” said McGraw. “One team, one goal and our one goal is to get a banner up on the wall.”

That goal has been a work in progress well before the season even started.

“That started this summer with these girls and seeing that we didn’t have anything representing volleyball in our gym,” McGraw said. “That’s really where it kind of started, and we’re just excited to get to go.”

Even though the Cyclones won their first 23 matches, they still feature a young squad, which continued to grow throughout the season.

“We are a very young team, so these girls have to basically mature as quickly as possible in regards to being out on the floor,” said McGraw. “But these girls have really grown and developed over the season. Actually, I had conversations with a few of them. They went back and watched their first game compared to their last game and they even see their development and their growth. And they’re really proud of that.”

While still young, a pair of underclassmen have made their presence felt at the net this season for Clark-Willow Lake.

“Our middles, Ella Sass (sophomore) and Shelby Begeman (freshman), have really been very, very influential this year,” said McGraw. “Our middles hit really well. They block really well. They move well on the court and we work to help them see the court even better, so they’re gonna be huge.”

Everyone who steps on the court for the Cyclones makes an impact on a match in one way or another. Having multiple girls who know their roles helps the team find success.

“They all know their role and they also understand that just because it isn’t their night doesn’t mean that it can’t still be a win for the team,” McGraw said. “That’s been huge for us.”

Clark-Willow Lake will face Hamlin in the first round at 12:45 p.m. (MST) today.

The Cyclones’ lone loss of the season came at the hands of Hamlin. The Cyclones will be at full strength this time.

“We didn’t have all of our starters that night. We didn’t have all of our players and that’s definitely not an excuse or anything like that, but they’re hungry to show that they want that one, too,” said McGraw. “The girls remember that loss and that was a really big learning lesson for us, and we took a lot from it. So, I think it’ll be fun. It’ll be fun to see a rematch and be able to have that opportunity to take back that one loss if we could.”