SELBY – After several years of narrowly missing out on qualifying for the State B Volleyball Tournament, Herreid-Selby Area made it in to this year’s tourney by the narrowest of margins.
The Wolverines edged perennial power Burke in a SoDak 16 match, 15-13 in the fifth set.
“The girls had intensity from the beginning,” said HSA coach Maria Sandmeier. “Burke, all-around, they just have athletes that can hit the ball. We knew what we were walking in to. We had watched a little film on them and we just knew it would be a dogfight both ways.”
The Wolverines won that dogfight and are now one of eight remaining Class B teams still playing.
“Our girls are really good at staying composed and just continuing to fight,” Sandmeier said.
Herreid-Selby Area had lost in the round of SoDak 16 the previous three years and are making their first appearance at state since 2017.
The squad is led by Jordyn Rossow who had 21 kills and 21 digs in the win over Burke.
“She’s our go-to power hitter. When we need to put that ball to the floor, we go to her,” Sandmeier said. “She brings the momentum. She carries the energy right on her shoulders.”
Fellow senior Breanna Jochim is also a potential hitter and brings a spirit of calmness when things get pressure-packed on the court.
“The last two weeks she’s just stepped up her game,” Sandmeier said. “She’s filling that role. She’s our go-to when we need a point.”
When HSA trailed Aberdeen Roncalli by nine points earlier this season, Jochim led the comeback with six kills and two aces.
“When we need something under pressure, she’s the calm to our chaos. … She’s our chaos coordinator out on the floor,” Sandmeier said.
The Wolverines, 26-6 on the season, will square off against top-seeded and two-time defending state champion Chester Area in the tournament’s first game on Thursday.
Sandmeier knows the task is tall, but believes in her players.
“They have kids that can hit the ball. They have three setters,” Sandmeier said. “They have it coming from all five positions on the court, front row, left and right. … Our defense has led us through every game, every tough opponent.”
After knocking off Burke in the SoDak 16, Sandmeier believes now might be the time to face the Flyers.
“I feel like it’s the perfect timing to meet up with Chester. Our girls are confident,” Sandmeier said. “It’s going to be tough to say the least, but what an accomplishment to make it to state. Win or lose, I’m just honored that we get to battle Chester.”
Sandmeier believes that this year’s tournament features a lot of balanced teams and is hoping that her team can pull off another upset or two.
“I really feel that this can be the year of upsets and changes all over the place,” Sandmeier said, “and we proved it right there (against Burke), 11 taking out 6, that doesn’t happen too often.”
Sandmeier has never played in a state tourney, just missing out after her Kimball team went 26-1 only to lose in the regions. She did however, play in a national tournament for Southwest Minnesota State.
The Wolverines will rely on their serve and defense to help them navigate through the state tournament.
“We’re not the most well-rounded offensive team, but I think our defense is what pulls us through. … We just gotta serve tough,” Sandmeier said. “We have to serve the dickens out of the ball and get them out of system, so that they can’t have those power hitters in system and carving us up.”
And it all starts with what happens behind the service line.
“That serve-pass game, that’s the most important fundamental,” Sandmeier said, “because you can’t win games without serving, and you really can’t win games without serving tough.”
