SIOUX FALLS – It turned out to be a role reversal for Aberdeen Central in its match against Sioux Falls Washington Thursday night.
Unlike a previous win for the Golden Eagles over Washington during the regular season, the Warriors were the ones who set the tone on the way to a 25-12, 25-18, 25-17 Class AA SoDak volleyball victory.
“Washington played really, really well tonight, probably some of their best volleyball of the year,” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel, “and we couldn’t find much of a rhythm and they took us out of our own game. It was just kind of an uphill battle all night.”
The Golden Eagles led just briefly in the early stages of the third set, but it was the Warriors who dictated the terms of the match.
A big factor in the contest was serving.
“When they came to us, we served really well at them,” Bindenagel said of the first meeting in Aberdeen. “We knew we needed to serve aggressively tonight. We just missed some key serves from pretty much everyone that went back to the line.”
In the rematch, the Warriors were the ones who served aggressively which allowed them to run their offense and keep the Golden Eagles off balance.
“They got us out of system a lot,” Bindenagel said, “which is ultimately the goal in volleyball is to win that serve-pass (game) and then run your offense.”
The Warriors were able to build leads in each set, and while Central never went away, it was unable to string enough points together to make a major comeback.
“I don’t think we went on hardly any runs tonight,” Bindenagel said. “They just always had an answer for us.”
Washington was able to hurt the Golden Eagles from both pins, and also in the middle.
“When that setter is on the net she likes to go to the middle and they were quick on that middle attack,” Bindenagel said.
Lauryn Burckhard finished with 10 kills, and Kamdyn Borge added eight to lead the Central offense.
While the Golden Eagles were unable to get back to the state tournament, they did have some memorable moments throughout the regular season.
“We had some really great wins with this group,” Bindenagel said. “It’s always sad to see seniors go, just have our time together be over, but I’m really thankful for the effort these kids put in all season.”
Hitting: Aberdeen Central (Lauryn Buckhard 10 kills, Kamdyn Borge 8 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Central (Alivia Miller 9 assists, Camryn Albrecht 9 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Central (Taylin Kleffman 12, Miller 11, Burckhard 5, Borge 5).
Blocks: Aberdeen Central (Kenadi Withers 1 solo 3 assists, Amelia Rife 3 assists).
Records: Aberdeen Central (15-12); Sioux Falls Washington (17-7).
