The wheels of the current season started turning months ago for the Aberdeen Central volleyball program.
After going on the road for a statement sweep in the SoDak 16 before dropping all three of their matches at the Class AA state tournament, the Golden Eagles roll into the 2025 season with largely the same roster, one more year of experience and a bit of a chip on their proverbial shoulders.
Central lost just three seniors from last year’s squad, and returns the bulk of its offensive front line for the current campaign. Golden Eagle head coach Jackie Bindenagel said that continuity has had a palpable effect in the gym through the first handful of practices.
“The energy has been great,” Bindenagel said during the team’s practice on Friday. “This is our ninth practice and I think we’ve had one that was flat. We started our season with our kids walking in here at 5:30 in the morning that Thursday. They were waiting at the door when they unlocked the door at 5:30. They’re ready to play.”
While the team battled through some roller coaster moments last season, Bindenagel hopes that past experience will help write a new story this season.
“We’re going to turn the page and start fresh,” she said. “We had some growing pains early on last year, dropped a couple early that we probably should have won. We’re hoping we can hit the ground running a little faster this year.”
That mindset has certainly been at the forefront of the team’s early-season practices with an emphasis on higher-level play.
“We have a lot of kids coming back, so really our goal this year is just to continue doing the basics well, and then level up in some areas, like increasing the tempo,” Bindenagel said. “Just some details that last year we couldn’t focus on and this year we can with a year of experience under our belt.”
That effort will be led by the likes of Lauryn Burckhard, a returning all-state selection, and Kenadi Withers on the front line and Alivia Miller and Camryn Albrecht at the setter positions. The Golden Eagles have five seniors with a wealth of varsity experience already to their names, including Withers, Jaidyn Forsyth, Amelia Rife, Maria Vrooman and Taylin Kleffman.
That group along with a bevy of underclassmen who have already played on the state’s highest stage brings a certain aura to every practice.
“They’re high energy, all the time,” Bindenagel said.
Central will open the season with an Eastern South Dakota Conference match-up at Brookings on Tuesday before heading west to face Rapid City Central and Rapid City Stevens Friday and Saturday, respectively.
While three straight road matches is a challenge, to be sure, Bindenagel said it’s an early chance for her squad to find its identity.
“We’ve got three in a row on the road, and I love starting on the road,” she said. “You can get some of the kinks worked out. This first stretch we’ll see what we’re made of and how we travel. Three matches in a week is tough.”
The Golden Eagles will host Huron (Sept. 6), Spearfish (Sept. 12) and Sturgis (Sept. 13) in their next three matches before heading into the heart of the season.
