REDFIELD – Northwestern found its path to the state tournament temporarily blocked, before finding an alternate route Tuesday night.

The Wildcats swept past Casetlewood for a 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 win in Class B SoDak 16 volleyball action.

“I thought our kids came out ready to go. I kind of asked them to crank it up a notch after last week,” said Northwestern coach Nora Groft. “I thought they really tightened things up, and they were a lot sharper and swung hard.”

The first set was neck and neck until the Wildcats pulled away and didn’t look back.

Northwestern had to find a way to hit around Castlewood’s size.

“Castlewood’s big, you know, they had three blocks on us in the first set,” Groft said, “so we kind of had to adjust some things and it’s hard to practice against a block.”

Northwestern wasted no time in the second set, racing to an 11–2 lead and carried that momentum to the end, closing it out with a dominant 10-point win.

The Warriors struggled to climb out of that hole the rest of the way.

“It’s definitely a mental struggle for us at that point, to get them out of their heads,” said Castlewood coach Breanna DeKam. “Just think one point at a time, keep our serves in, and keep our passes high.”

Despite trailing by two sets, Castlewood stayed within striking distance in the third set, never letting the margin get past five points.

The Warriors owned an 8-3 lead in the third, but were unable to force a fourth set.

Groft talked about the slow start to the final set.

“Well, we got aced three times in a row,” Groft said, “but I love that our kids kept their composure, they didn’t get rattled by it.”

While the Warriors could not win a set off of Northwestern, Castlewood senior captain Cassidy Kirwan said the team was not going to go down without a fight.

“Every point matters — play your heart out every game,” Kirwan said.

In the end, Northwestern’s blocked proved to be too much for Castlewood as the Wildcats finished with 11 assisted blocks.

Meanwhile, Northwestern was able to find a route past the Warriors’ block.

“So, we know they had a big middle blocker,” said Northwestern senior setter Ella Boekelheide, “so I kind of had to navigate that a little differently, just give the hitters their best opportunity to get a good ball.”

It was the second time this season that Northwestern defeated the Warriors.

“This is a really good Northwestern team,” DeKam said. “They’re going to have a run for the championship.”

In addition to racking up 34 set assists, Boekelheide deceived Castlewood’s defense with well-timed dumps, and placed the ball precisely into the undefended corners. 

DeKam credited Northwestern’s quick offense for challenging her team’s defense.

“They’re fast, they know where they’re going with it, their setter is very deceptive and I think that threw us off,” DeKam said. 

Ashley Haven led the Wildcats with 18 kills and four assisted blocks.

As the season came to a close, Kirwan took a moment to reflect on her journey with the team.

“It’s been an amazing four years I played with them,” Kirwan said, “and I’m gonna miss them very much.”

Northwestern will face Gayville-Volin in the opening round of the state tournament next Thursday in Rapid City.

Boekelheide said there are still things to work on heading into the state tourney.

“I just think we can keep serving good spots and just lowering forced errors,” Boekelheide said.

Castlewood stats not reported

Serving: Northwestern 68-72 5 aces (Brenna Halvorson 10-11 2 aces, Ella Boekelheide 19-19 1 ace, Tara Blachford 10-10 1 ace, Sophia Troske 10-11 1 ace).

Hitting: Northwestern 102-118 42 kills (Ashley Haven 33-35 18 kills, Taylor Vetter 20-24 7 kills, Lila Johnson 12-14 6 kills)

Setting: Northwestern 115-115 41 assists (Boekelheide 93-93 34 assists, Johnson 10-10 2 assists).

Digs: Northwestern 63 (Boekelheide 12, Blachford 11, Johnson 11).

Blocks: Northwestern 11 assists (Haven 4 assists, Vetter 4 assists, Breelyn Satter 3 assists, Kylee Henjum 2 assists, Boekelheide 2 assists).