HURON – Aberdeen Central came up big when it mattered most Friday night.
The Golden Eagles rallied for a reverse sweep over Huron in Eastern South Dakota Conference volleyball, winning the match 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-10.
Central trailed 18-14 and 20-17 in the third set before extending the match, and then overcame 16-11 and 19-17 deficits in the fourth set before scoring the final eight points to force a deciding fifth set.
Once there, the Golden Eagles pulled away from an 8-7 edge to finish off the comeback and pick up the match victory.
“Tonight’s match was filled with more ups and down than I can count,” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel. “We were not efficient in the first two sets, but the kids found a way to get the job done. We just kept building momentum with each set.”
Alivia Miller was the service line when Central had its key scoring burst to force a fifth set. She led the Golden Eagles with 13 kills, and also contributed 17 set assists to go along with 16 digs.
Lauryn Burckhard finished with four aces, 10 kills, a team-leading 23 digs.
As a result, the Golden Eagles improved to 14-9 with the victory.
“They finished strong and worked through a lot of things when we couldn’t get much to go our way,” Bindenagel said. “I’m extremely proud of their effort.”
Central will host Pierre on Tuesday at Golden Eagles Arena.
Serving: Aberdeen Central 100-109 10 aces (Lauryn Burckhard 13-13 4 aces, Julia Malsam 15-16 3 aces, Camryn Albrecht 22-23 1 ace, Alivia Miller 20-25 1 ace, Kalli Huff 13-14 1 ace).
Hitting: Aberdeen Central 137-166 33 kills (Miller 36-40 13 kills, Burckhard 37-45 10 kills, Annie Bindenagel 30-37 7 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Central 157-157 40 assists (Albrecht 49-49 18 assists, Miller 87-87 17 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Central 102 (Burckhard 23, Huff 17, Miller 16, Karlie Nieman 12, Malsam 12, Albrecht 10).
Blocks: Aberdeen Central 14 assists (Nieman 5, Kyley Wirebaugh 3, Kendyl Fischer 2, Miller 2, Bindenagel 1, Burckhard 1).
Records: Aberdeen Central 14-9; Huron 8-13.
