Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media, Author at Big Sioux Media Sports Network

St Mary Volleyball Falls to Chester in Region 4B

November 6, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley, Dells City Journal

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal volleyball team advanced to the SoDak16 Qualifying match of the Region 4B tournament with a win on Tuesday, but the post-season run ended there on Thursday, November 5th. The Cardinals feel to the top-seeded Chester Area Flyers in Chester in straight sets by scores of 25-15, 25-13, and 25-10.

The Flyers were strong in all phases of the match. Chester started the first set with a 10-2 run. St Mary was only able to cut the lead to 11-6 before the Flyers went on another big run to make the score 20-10 as they went on to win the first set 25-15.

After a 2-2 tie score to start the second set, the Flyers went on another scoring spurt. Chester went on a 10-2 run for a 12-4 lead. The Cardinals again cut the lead to five points at 12-7, but the Flyers ended the set on a 13-6 run for a 25-13 win.

Chester started the third set with a 3-0 run, but St Mary responded with a 4-0 of their own to take a 4-3 lead. The score remained close with Chester holding an 8-7 lead. The Flyers then went on a 9-0 run for a 17-7 lead. Chester took the set 25-10 for the match win.

Courtney Brown finished with 12 digs, seven kills, and two blocks. Ella Heinitz had eight kills, eight set assists, six digs, and two ace serves. Maya Heinitz added 11 digs and three kills. Ella Griffin finished with eight set assists, three digs, two kills, and two blocks. Macie Brown ended with four digs.

St Mary has their season come to an end with an overall record of 10-9.

Mustang Volleyball Season Ends in Regions

November 6, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Tri-Valley Mustang volleyball team had their 2020 season end in the Region 3A tournament on Thursday, November 5th. The Mustangs fell to the #1 seed Sioux Falls Christian Chargers in straight sets.

The Mustangs played the Chargers close early in the opening set. Sioux Falls Christian only led by two points at 9-7, but the Chargers then went on an 8-1 run for a 17-8 lead. Sioux Falls Christian ended the first set with a 25-17 victory.

Sioux Falls Christian got out to a quick 8-3 lead in the second set. They carried that momentum all the way to a 25-11 win for a 2-0 set lead. The Mustangs found themselves trailing by eight points at 14-5 early in the third set. Tri-Valley went on a 6-1 run to pull within four points at 15-11, but the rally fell short as the Chargers took the set 25-16 to win the match.

Tri-Valley finishes with an overall season record of 11-11.

Cardinals Advance in Region 4B with Straight Set Win over Ethan

November 4, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal volleyball team kept their season going in the opening round of the Region 4B tournament on Tuesday, November 3rd. St Mary, the fifth seed in the tournament, traveled to Ethan to play the Rustlers. The Cardinals came home with a straight set win by scores of 25-22, 25-18, and 25-15.

The first set started back-and-forth as neither team was able to get a lead of more than two points. St Mary started to make a run after the score was tied 8-8. The Cardinals scored four in a row for a 12-8 lead, but the Rustlers tied the set again at 13-13. St Mary again got a little run and led 19-15 only to have Ethan once again tie the score at 20-20. The Rustlers kept the momentum going and took a 22-20 lead, but the Cardinals finished the set on a 5-0 run to win 25-22.

That run set the tone for the remainder of the match. St Mary jumped out to an 8-2 lead to start the second set. Ethan got within three points a couple of times, but the Cardinals pushed the lead to 22-13 and took the second set 25-18.

St Mary again got out to an early 6-2 lead to start the third set. Ethan cut the lead down to two points at 15-13, but a well taken timeout by the Cardinals ended any chance at a comeback by the Rustlers. St Mary finished the set on a 10-2 run to 25-15 and take the match.

Courtney Brown had 10 kills, 12 digs, and two blocks on the night. Ella Heinitz finished with 17 set assists, 16 digs, and eight kills. Ella Griffin had nine kills along with eight set assists, 11 digs, and four blocks. Maya Heinitz finished with a team-high four ace serves. She also had five digs and four kills. Macie Brown tallied six digs.

St Mary (10-8) will travel to Chester to play the Flyers on Thursday, November 5th. The winner will advance to the SoDak 16.

Quarriers Fall in Five Set, Region 3A Thriller

November 4, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley, Dells City Journal

The Dell Rapids Quarrier volleyball team were just a few points short of advancing to the next round of the Region 3A tournament. Dell Rapids fell to the Baltic Bulldogs in five sets on Tuesday, November 3rd. The set scores were 25-23, 19-25, 18-25, 25-21, and 12-15.

The first set was played close throughout its entirety. Baltic got ahead by as many as four points at 13-9 and 14-10, but that was the largest lead either team had. Dell Rapids’ largest lead was two points, and they had that as late as 24-22. Baltic pulled within a point at 24-23, but the Qurriers got the final point for the opening set win.

The Bulldogs found some momentum early in the second set. They lead 7-4 early, and then went on a 7-0 to lead 14-4. Dell Rapids was only able to pull within three points at 18-15 as Baltic was able to pull away for the 25-19 win to even the match.

Baltic again got out to an early three-to-four point lead to start the third set. The lead continued to be about four points throughout much of the game. The Bulldogs got the lead to ten points at 24-14. Dell Rapids scored four in a row to make it 24-18, but the rally ended there as Baltic won 25-18 to take a 2-1 set lead.

Even though the rally in the third set ended, the Quarriers continued that momentum into the fourth set and opened with a 6-1 run. Dell Rapids continued to build on the lead as the score reached 22-11 in favor of the Quarriers. The Bulldogs pulled within three points at 24-21, but Dell Rapids won 25-21 to force the fifth and final set of the match.

The Bulldogs rallied first and got out to a quick 5-2 lead. Dell Rapids responded with three in a row to tie the set 5-5 and then took an 8-6 lead. Baltic was able to the the set at 9-9, and the score remained tied at 10-10, 11-11, and 12-12. Baltic scored the advantage at 13-12, and that was just enough of a spark to get them the final two points for the 15-12 win to advance to the next round of the Region 3A tournament.

Kenzie Garry finished with 18 kills, four blocks, and six digs in the match. Emma VanRegenmorter had 14 kills, 12 blocks, nine digs, and two ace serves. Sophi Randall finished with 34 set assists, 12 blocks, seven digs, and two ace serves. Olivia Prasek added six blocks. Sam Price ended the night with 38 digs. Mackenzie Apland had 16 digs, Lexi Ingalls finished with 15, and Emma Molskness had 13 digs.

Dell Rapids season comes to an end with an overall record of 5-13.

Tri-Valley Advances in Region 3A after 3rd Win over West Central

November 4, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Tri-Valley Mustangs and West Central Trojans met for the third time this season on Tuesday, November 3rd at Tri-Valley High School. This meeting was in the opening round of the Region 3A tournament, and all three meetings have occurred in the last 17 days with the Mustangs winning the first two.

Tri-Valley got out to a quick 5-1 lead in the opening set of the match. The Mustangs maintained a two-to-three point lead before extending it to 15-9 midway through the set. The lead grew to 10 points at 23-13, and Tri-Valley took the first set 25-13.

The momentum carried into the second set as the Mustangs scored the first six points for a 6-0 lead. West Central pulled within three points early in the set, but the Mustangs never lost the lead and eventually won in the second set 25-17 for a 2-0 lead.

The Mustangs once again grabbed an early lead in the third set at 6-2. West Central, however, was able to get the set tied at 12-12. The set was within a point for much of the remainder of the game. With the score tied 20-20, the Trojans finished the set on a 5-1 run to win 25-21 and force a fourth set.

The fourth set started close as both teams were tied 4-4. The Mustangs then went on a 7-1 run for an 11-5 lead. That run gave all the momentum to Tri-Valley. The lead grew to 19-9, and the Mustangs won the set 25-15 to win the match.

West Central was led by Cassidy Siemonsma with 11 kills and four blocks. Jenna Lueth had 14 digs, and Jocelyn Nilson added 10 digs. Rachel Bucher had three ace serves. Alaina Murphy added three blocks, and Brooke Opitz finished with 17 set assists.

Kaitlyn Mohnen had 15 digs and 10 kills for the Mustangs. Blayne Gacke had 13 digs, nine kills, and seven ace serves. Jessica Masgain had three blocks and two ace serves. Grace Shildhauer added 20 set assists in the match.

The Trojans end their season with an overall record of 6-15.

Tri-Valley moves on to the next round of the Region 3A tournament. They will plat at #1 Sioux Falls Christian in a SoDak16 Qualifier match on Thursday, November 5th at 7:00 p.m.

Dell Rapids FFA Annual Fruit Sale

November 3, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids FFA is having their annual fruit sale. They have eight different mixed boxes of fruit with four containing Pink Lady Apples. Along with full and half boxes of navel oranges, grapefruit and apples, they also are selling packages of meat and cheese, mixed and chocolate covered nuts, pastry puffins, and puff crust pizza.

All of the funds raised will be used for various FFA activities throughout the year. The sale runs until November 6th, and the items come in the week of December 7th – 11th.

You can order online (www.myfruitsale.com/portal/customer/setstudent?code=W9FAGU) or in person from a member of the FFA. If you would like to purchase an item and haven’t been contacted, you can call Mr. Wolff before or after school at 428-5473 ext. 419.

Dell Rapids Chamber Holds Trick-or-Treat Drive Thru

November 1, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce held a drive-thru “Trick-or-Treat” event on Friday, October 30th. The chamber decided to do a drive-thru in an attempt to provide a safe event as the number of Covid cases have risen over the last month. The thought was this was a safer way to hold the event rather than having all of the people in close proximity to one another downtown.

The chamber decorated areas of the park, and volunteers in costumes from Dell Rapids businesses and community lined the park pathway for children to see as they were driven through the park. Each child was then given a bag of candy from the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Around 700 bags of candy were handed out at the event.

2020 Dell Rapids American Legion Veteran’s Day Observance

November 1, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

American Legion George A. Fitzgerald Post 65 will be honoring all veterans and their loved ones with a Veterans Day memorial service on Wednesday afternoon November 11, 2020 @ 3:00 pm at the Veterans Memorial Park in Dell Rapids. Guest Speaker for the occasion will be Father Shane Stevens, Pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Dell Rapids. Patriotic music will be played before the service begins and the Legion Post 65 Firing Squad will be on hand to post our nation’s colors.

Parking for the service will be available at the following locations:

At the Dells Auto Lot west of the Dairy Queen;
On the west side of Old Hwy 77 near the Subway strip mall;
On the north side of SD Hwy 115 across from the fire station.

Parking will not be allowed at the fire station parking lot due to the possibility of a fire, rescue, or ambulance call. However, attendees to the Veterans Day Observance will be allowed to stand in the parking lot at the fire station for the service. In case of inclement weather, the service will be held at St. Mary Catholic Church. Due to a recent spike in CO-VID 19 cases in South Dakota, all attendees are asked to wear masks and observe social distancing protocols.

Legion Post 65 cordially invites all citizens in the local area to attend the service and appreciates everyone’s cooperation in this event.

St Mary Volleyball Finishes Regular Season in Garretson

October 31, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals had their final regular season game in Garretson on Friday, October 30th. The Cardinals fell to the Blue Dragons in straight sets by scores of 25-14, 25-19, and 27-25.

Garretson built a lead they wouldn’t lose about midway through the first set. After the set was 6-4 in favor of the Blue Dragons, Garretson extended that lead to 12-6. St Mary got within four points at 15-11, but Garretson finished the set on a 10-3 run for the win.

The second set started back-and-forth. Garretson did get out to a three-point lead midway through the set, but St Mary kept it close. The Cardinals were within a point at 17-16, but another late run by the Blue Dragons gave them a 25-19 second set victory.

Garretson raced out to a 6-1 lead in the third set. The Cardinals would not be deterred by the fast start. St Mary battled to tie the set at 13-13, and then took a 14-13 lead moments later. The Cardinals were able to hold a two-point lead at 18-16 and 19-17, but the Blue Dragons went on another 6-1 for a 23-20 lead. St Mary again battled back to tie the set at 23-23. Garretson had match point at 24-23, but the Cardinals scored two in a row for a 25-24 advantage. Garretson, however, scored the final three points to take the set 27-25 and win the match.

Courtney Brown finished with 16 kills and 10 digs. Ella Heinitz had 18 digs, 17 set assists, and six kills. Maya Heinitz finished with 15 digs. Ella Griffin tallied 10 digs, eight set assists, four kills, and two blocks. Macie Brown added five digs defensively.

The Cardinals finish the regular season with a 9-8 record and will be the #5 seed in the Region 4B tournament. St Mary will travel to #4 seed Ethan on Tuesday, November 3rd for their first post-season match.

Cardinals Advance to Semifinals of 9B Playoffs

October 30, 2020 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals had to wait 27 days to get a game played since their last game on October 2nd. And in that time, they also watched the opening round of the 9B playoffs. But once the Cardinals took to the field in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, October 29th, they made sure more football would be played this season.

The Cardinals made the long bus ride to Faith and then handled the Longhorns with a 40-22 victory.

St Mary scored 22 points in the opening quarter and never looked back. Noah Olund had two rushing touchdowns in the first two Cardinal possessions and Connor Libis added another one for a 22-8 lead after the first quarter of play. Olund scored his third touchdown with 10:42 to play in the second quarter. Libis then ended the half with a touchdown run with :30 on the clock as St Mary went into halftime leading 34-8.

Faith was able to make some adjustments on defense in the second half, and their offense got going as well. The Longhorns scored a touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 34-14. Faith would get another touchdown early in the fourth quarter after a blocked put, and all the sudden the Longhorns cut the lead to 34-22.

St Mary responded on the very next drive. They would put together a nine-play drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown by Libis with 5:25 to play in the game. That touchdown proved to be the game-clinching score as the Cardinal defense held the remainder of the game.

The Cardinals finished the night with 352 yards of total offense, all of which were rushing yards. Faith had 202 yards of offense, 70 rushing yards and 202 passing yards.

Libis had 29 carries for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Olund had 18 carries for 63 yards and three touchdowns. Nic Gaspar finished with nine carries for 80 yards. Ashaun Roach-Valandra led the defense with seven tackles and two sacks. Noah Dennis finished with six tackles, and John Pica added five tackles. Nick Wolles, Libis, and Olund all had an interception in the first half of the game.

St Mary (6-2) will travel to Kadoka to play the Kadoka Area Kougars on Friday, November 6th. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

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