RAPID CITY – It was right there within their reach, but at the end of the day, the Hamlin Chargers came away empty harded.

In a match that feature a variety of match points, Elkton Lake-Benton rallied past Hamlin 22-25, 21-25, 27-25, 26-24, 18-16 in consolation round action in the Class A State Volleyball Tournament at The Monument Friday afternoon.

“I don’t think there’s really a whole lot of words for it. We came out and played really well the first two sets and it’s not even that we played bad in the next three, we didn’t capitalize on the opportunities that they gave us,” said Hamlin coach Ashley Heinrich. “Then I felt like we started to just make our own mental mistakes and almost play a little scared, kind of like playing not to lose instead of playing aggressive and playing to win like we did the first two sets.”

The fourth set was about as even as it could have been. The score was tied at every point from 8 to 24 except for 21-21. The Elks finally broke a 24-24 tie to even the match.

Then it appeared Elkton-Lake Benton had the match under control after jumping out to an 11-6 lead in the fifth. With star hitter Ally Abraham on the bench for a rotation change, the Chargers battled back and scored eight straight points to grab a 14-11 advantage. However, Hamlin came up empty on all three of its match points.

“It was almost like we were scared,” Heinrich said. “We just wanted them to give us the point instead of earning it ourselves was sort of what it felt like.”

Once the Elks drew even, the score was tied at 14, 15 and 16 with each team having another match point. Finally, Elkton-Lake Benton was able to string back-to-back points together to pull out the dramatic victory.

The two teams combined for a whopping 230 digs in the contest.

Kailyn Drietz had 17 kills and Rachel Krog 15 for Elkton-Lake Benton.

Abraham had a match-high 28 kills to pace Hamlin, while Gracelyn Leiseth followed with 16.

The match came on the heels of a loss on Thursday in which the Chargers had chances against Dakota Valley, but were unable to finish off those sets.

Hamlin, 26-8, will try to end the season on a positive note when they face Parkston in the seventh place match this morning at 9 a.m. (Mountain Time).

Heinrich said the team just needs to draw together and stay positive following the frustrating loss on Friday.

“I think it’s just kind of getting together as a team. It was a hard-fought battle,” she said. “Obviously, we were hoping it went the other way. We need to get together and support each other…so that (Saturday) looks different for us.”

Serving: Hamlin 9 aces (Kami Wadsworth 3, Ally Abraham 3, Payton Weelborg 2, Addison Neuendorf 1); Elkton-Lake Benton 4 aces (Tevan Erickson 2, Kayla Goertz 1, Kylile Ramlo 1).

Hitting: Hamlin 59 kills (Abraham 28 Gracelyn Leiseth 16, Kami Wadsworth 5); Elkton-Lake Benton 59 (Kailyn Drietz 17, Rachael Krog 15, Ramlo 11).

Setting: Hamlin 57 assists (Wadsworth 30, Grace Everson 21); Elkton-Lake Benton 57 (Erickson 52).

Digs: Hamlin 111 (Neuendorf 28, Wadsworth 24, Everson 19, Alyssa West 17, Lily Smith 12); Elkton-Lake Benton 119 (Krog 31, Erickson 20, Ramlo 20, Dreitz 14, Kinsley Krog 13, Goertz 12).

Blocks: Hamlin 5 solos 10 assists (Leiseth 2 solos 4 assists, Abraham 2 solos 1 assist, Ava Prouty 1 solo 2 assists, Emily Everson 3 assists); Elkton-Lake Benton 5 solos 10 assists (Aubree Bales 2 solos 3 assists, Ramlo 1 solo 2 assists, Drietz 1 solo 2 assists, Erickson 1 solo 1 assist, R. Krog 1 assist, Madisyn Nielsen 1 assist).

Records: Hamlin 26-8; Elkton-Lake Benton 23-12.