RAPID CITY – It was a different venue, but the same result in the third place match during the State A Volleyball Tournament Saturday night at The Monument.
Sioux Falls Christian defeated Hamlin once again, this time scoring a 25-19, 25-15, 25-18 victory.
It was a rematch of last year’s third place contest in Sioux Falls, where SFC controlled the entire match.
“I know it’s still a loss, but we competed better. A lot of heart. I mean, we talked today in our pregame speech, like just go out there. Enjoy your moments, enjoy your memories, and play for each other,” said Hamlin coach Ashley Heinrich. “If it doesn’t end our way, then it is what it is. But at least be proud of yourself when you walk off the court. I think they gave it their all, and unfortunately came up a little short.”
The pregame message resonated with the Hamlin players, who played with joy at the forefront of their minds throughout the last match of the season.
“We talked about it a lot during the game and at the beginning of the game, just play with joy,” said Hamlin’s Addelyn Jensen. “So that was my main thing, just find some joy.”
The joy was evident in the first set as the two squads traded points back and forth. Christian had a game plan to slow down Addison Neuendorf, setting multiple girls to block the all-tournament hitter.
“I think they saw a little bit of (Friday),” Neuendorf said. “They lined me up well and they did their job.”
That left the other “Addie” to find success, to which Jensen stepped up to that role getting two of the first four points for Hamlin.
“I just had to figure out how to step up in that big moment, and see the open spots in the court,” Jensen said. “But it’s really meaningful that I know that my team can trust me to do that when Addie (Neuendorf) is having a lot of defense on her.”
Neither team could pull away until SFC went on to outscore Hamlin 10-2 to end the set, largely in part to its serving.
“I honestly think sometimes it’s just we have a little youth, a little inexperience and they have good servers,” Heinrich said. “I mean, we’re really playing the top tier teams in South Dakota right now, and they’ve got great servers. And we don’t see a ton of that throughout the season.”
In addition to a strong serve, Christian had some strong hitters as they put up 43 kills throughout the three sets. Hamlin was able to out-dig SFC, and Neuendorf led the way with a match-high 20 digs.
“In the back row, you’re never always in the right place at the right time, so just gotta get in the gaps and see where you are,” Neuendorf said. “Just getting under it and reading your hitter like they would read you.”
The second set was tight until Meredith Nelson took the service line for Sioux Falls Christian up 12-10, and served up three aces over six serves, making it 18-10. At that point, the lead was too large for Hamlin to make up as SFC took the second set.
The momentum of the first two sets carried over into the third set as SFC built a commanding 19-7 lead. Neuendorf produced a kill and an ace a couple points later to make it 21-11.
“When we were down 21-10, I was kind of like just don’t end on a bad note. Go out there and just have a good time and be present with my teammates. Because at the end of the day, we’re not gonna remember fourth place, we’re not gonna remember who we lost to, what the scores were,” Neuendorf said. “We’re gonna remember all the team stuff. Like these girls are my best friends and I seriously wouldn’t trade them for anything. So just go out there and just be present in the moment with them.”
And that idea sparked a strong finish for Hamlin as it outscored Sioux Falls Christian 10-6 in the final moments of the set before Sioux Falls Christian closed out the match.
“We were like ‘Whoa, are we gonna do something crazy here and maybe take this set?’” Heinrich said. “I was just, again, super proud. I should probably find another word, but just super proud of the way they did all that.”
As Jensen goes into next year, she said she’ll miss the senior leadership from this year’s squad.
“I really think our seniors this year were really special. They have big impacts and they’re just such good leaders. Every day, in practice, they both bring it,” Jensen said. “I also think the girls on the other side of the net that don’t necessarily see the court, they got a lot better this year, which made it a lot more fun at practice.”
That growth is something that Hamlin can be excited about for years to come.
“Hamlin is gonna be back,” Heinrich said. “We got a lot of young girls that are gonna bring us back to the state tournament for hopefully the foreseeable future.”
As Neuendorf’s volleyball career came to a close, she reminisced on all the years she played for Hamlin.
“I remember my eighth-grade year, we made this state tournament. We got seventh, but I was so little. Comparing myself to now and then, it’s just crazy how much you can grow through a program,” said the senior. “I give that all to my teammates and to my coaches. They push me to be my best and I’m forever grateful for that.”
Serving: Sioux Falls Christian 7 aces (Meredith Nelson 4, Jasmine Vander Haar 2); Hamlin 4 aces (Addison Neuendorf 2, Paxton Neuendorf 1, Issie Steffensen 1).
Hitting: Sioux Falls Christian 43 kills (Tavyn Sichmeller 12, Jayla Overman 9, Camdyn Mulder 9); Hamlin 32 kills (Addelyn Jensen 10, Jade Thue 8, A. Neuendorf 8).
Setting: Sioux Falls Christian 41 assists (Nelson 35); Hamlin 32 assists (Steffensen 26).
Digs: Sioux Falls Christian 54 digs (Vander Haar 18, Sichmeller 12, Ella Fluth 9); Hamlin 55 (A. Neuendorf 20, Jayci Trowbridge 11, Steffensen 7).
Blocks: Sioux Falls Christian 4 (Overman 3 assisted, Nelson 3 assisted, Mulder 1 assisted, Allyra Dorhout 1 assisted); Hamlin 3 (Jensen 1 solo 1 assisted, Thue 1 solo, Kayde Nebel 1 assisted).
Records: Sioux Falls Christian 27-11; Hamlin 22-6.
