RAPID CITY – Clark-Willow Lake rewrote its program history on Saturday afternoon earning the consolation championship trophy after returning to the State A Volleyball Tournament for the first time in more than 20 years.

After falling in the opening round of the tourney, the Cyclones fulfilled a goal of taking fifth place with a 27-25, 26-24, 12-25, 25-23 win over St. Thomas More.

“Just so much happiness for the girls, for all the girls that we have achieved this. It’s something that hasn’t been done in school history since ‘01,” said Cyclones coach Betty McGraw. “So for us to get to do that for the first time ever with the co-op and we just know that we got to be a part of history. And we achieved our goal of the banner on the wall.”

Shelby Begeman made her presence known right away as she hammered the ball down for the first point of the match. The freshman kept the team goal in her mind as she started the game.

“We just really wanted this fifth-place win, it was a really big deal for us,” said Begeman. “We just wanted that banner on the wall.”

Neither team was able to pull away in the opening set as CWL’s largest lead came at 8-4, and STM’s largest lead came at 19-16. The Cyclones were able to keep their composure throughout the set to secure an extra-point win, thanks to a kill from Kelsey Hofer.

“It was definitely a focus that we wanted to stay calm, cool, and collective. We didn’t wanna go too high, we definitely didn’t wanna drop too low,” said McGraw. “I also think just being in this environment also helped. We watched other teams and watched a lot of the games. And just watching this higher level of volleyball, I think really impacted the girls and they were able to replicate it.”

The second set was similar to the first set as the Cavaliers jumped out to a 6-2 lead, then the Cyclones held a 19-12 lead before the Cavaliers came back and even had a set point at 24-23.

“I don’t know, it seems to be our thing,” said McGraw with a laugh. “We just have to help refocus on backup, focus on the communication working back together. And then they typically can grab it and go.”

The Cyclones took advantage of their balanced attack in the second set. Begeman and Hofer each had three kills, setter Zoe Nichols tacked on a kill, along with Eliza Larson, Calla Larson, and Ella Sass.

Setter Nichols tries to spread the ball around to multiple hitters.

“Usually when every girl’s on, I like to just go around. I like to get every girl. Because if they think I’m gonna go middle, I’m gonna go outside. If they think I’m gonna go outside, I go back to my middle,” Nichols said. “I have so many diverse hitters that I know every single one of them can hit and get a ball down.”

Going into the third set, the Cavaliers changed their gameplan and it worked, as the Cyclones were held to just 12 points. Wanting to close the match in four, the Cyclones stepped up their game.

“We knew where the areas were that we had to focus back in on, and we had to close out our blocks. We had to get movement back in our back row again. We had to execute at the front,” said McGraw. “I think some of the girls just really got a fire in them, like we’re not going to five. We’re taking what we want and they did that.”

It came with some in set adjustments as the Cavalier block was proving to be tough for the Cyclones to get past. Begeman began looking more closely at the block to see where she could get through.

“I feel like I was looking at the blocks more and Zoe’s sets were just really good,” Begeman said. “Our passes were up and everything just kind of meshed together.”

Begeman finished with seven kills in the set, as Nichol looked for her down the stretch.

“I trust Shelby. I trust that she’s gonna get that ball down every time I give it to her,” Nichols said.

With her birthday just around the corner, senior Zoe Helkenn was proud of the way her team competed in the match.

“It’s almost my birthday, so it’s an early birthday present for me, but I’m just super proud of everybody,” Helkenn said. “We push so hard to get here and it just feels great. It’s a great accomplishment for all of us.”

Getting the win gave Nichols even more energy despite playing 11 sets in 3 days.

“I honestly feel like I can jump off the wall right now,” Nichols said. “I’m so happy.”

The two seniors will miss the togetherness of the Cyclone volleyball team.

“Just the way that me and all the girls mesh together,” Nichols said when asked what she’ll miss about the team. “I loved having this season with those girls and being with them all the time.”

“Big things that I’ll miss are gonna be our pregame hype speeches in the locker room for sure. Also, our pep talks in the huddles,” Helkenn said. “Just all the fun, silly little quirks that all the girls have is gonna be the saddest thing to miss.”

The Clark-Willow Lake Cyclones finished the year at 27-2.

Serving: St. Thomas More 6 aces (Kaitlyn Birdwell 2, Kaitlin Strain 1, Enna Henry 1, Mara Wilkening 1, Kesley Benda 1); Clark-Willow Lake 7 aces (Zoe Nichols 3, Zoey Helkenn 1, Kelsey Hofer 1, Peyton Lee 1, Kadee Frankfurth 1).

Hitting: St. Thomas More 47 kills (Leighton Scherr 19, Madison Boyum 9, Benda 9); Clark-Willow Lake 46 kills (Shelby Begeman 19, Hofer 12, Eliza Larson 9).

Setting: St. Thomas More 46 assists (Henry 44); CWL 44 assists (Nichols 37).

Digs: St. Thomas More 91 (Strain 23, Benda 17, Birdwell 13); Clark-Willow Lake 85 (Frankfurth 21, Hofer 18, Nichols 12).

Blocks: St. Thomas More 9 (Boyum 1 solo 5 assisted, Benda 1 solo 2 assisted, Violet Grimshaw 3 assisted); Clark-Willow Lake 5 (Begeman 2 solo 1 assisted, Sass 1 solo 1 assisted, Calla Larson 2 assisted).

Records: St. Thomas More 30-11; Clark-Willow Lake 27-2.