Photo taken and used with permission by Sara Stadem
The Dell Rapids Quarrier volleyball team took its fans on a fun ride in the 2023 season qualifying for the state tournament for the first time since 1986. The Quarriers finished their season with a third place finish at the 2023 South Dakota State A Volleyball Tournament in Rapid City November 16th through 18th.
Dell Rapids 3, Platte-Geddes 1
The Quarriers won the opening round on Thursday by set scores of 25-20, 20-25, 25-10, and 25-14. Dell Rapids went on a 10-0 run early in the first set for a 12-5. The Black Panthers tied the score 17-17, but the Quarriers finished the set on an 8-3 run for a 25-20 win. The second set was tied about halfway through at 10-10. Platte-Geddes went on an 8-2 run for an 18-12 lead before winning 25-20. The third set started with a 4-4 tie, but Dell Rapids used another big run for a 17-7 lead. The Quarriers won 25-10 to take a 2-1 set lead. After a 6-6 tie in the fourth set, the Quarriers took a 15-9 lead. The Black Panthers pulled within four, 17-13, but Dell Rapids responded with a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 22-13 before winning the match 25-14.
Madelynn finished with 26 kills, three ace serves, and 16 digs. Lauryn Kloth had 10 kills, two digs, two blocks, and an ace. Sophi Randall added 36 set assists, 11 digs, six kills, and three blocks. Kylee Fiddelke finished with six kills and an ace. Elin Schoenhard had three kills and three aces. Clara Justice also had three kills. Alaina Wolff added nine digs and six ace serves, and Karlie Ingalls had nine digs.
Sioux Falls Christian 3, Dell Rapids 1
In the semifinal round on Friday, the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers defeated Dell Rapids in four sets by scores of 25-19, 25-16, 24-26, and 25-11. The Chargers started the match with a 4-0 lead. Dell Rapids pulled within a point, 10-9. Sioux Falls Christian led by two points, 15-13, and then went on a 6-1 run for a 21-14 lead before winning 25-19. Dell Rapids started the second set with a 5-2 lead, but Sioux Falls Christian tied the score 7-7. The score was tied 9-9 and 10-10, and then the Chargers went on a 9-0 run for a 19-10 lead. Sioux Falls Christian took the win 25-16.
The Chargers held a 5-1 lead to begin the third set. The Quarriers rallied for an 8-8 tie. The score was tied 12-12 and 14-14. Sioux Falls Christian pulled ahead 17-14, but Dell Rapids went on a 4-0 run for an 18-17 lead. The two teams traded points to tie scores of 19-19, 20-20, 23-23, and 24-24. The Quarriers rallied for the final two points to take the 26-24 win. The fourth set started with a 2-2 tie, but the Chargers went on a 5-0 run for a 7-2 lead. That run gave them the momentum the rest of the set as they extended their lead to 22-8 before winning the match with a 25-11 score.
Henry had 13 kills, eight digs, three set assists, two blocks, and an ace. Kloth finished with 10 kills, a dig, and a block. Randall added 28 set assists, 10 digs, nine kills, and two blocks. Schoenhard had seven kills, three blocks, and a set. Fiddelke finished with nine digs, two kills, and an ace. Wolff had eight digs and six set assists, and Ingalls added six digs.
Dell Rapids 3, Miller 0
Dell Rapids finished the season with a straight-set win over the Miller Rustlers to finish third in the state tournament. The Quarriers won by scores of 25-15, 25-20, and 25-21. The first set started with a 2-2 tie, but then Dell Rapids went on an 8-1 run for a 10-3 lead. The Quarriers extended the lead to 14-4 and continued to by 10 points to a 25-15 win. Dell Rapids carried the momentum into the third set and started with a 4-0 lead. The lead grew to 10 points again, 15-5. Miller rallied to cut the lead to 21-17, but the Quarriers ended the rally and finished with a 25-20 win.
Dell Rapids started the third set with a 4-1 lead and extended it to 7-2. The Quarriers continued to lead 12-7, but then the Rustlers began to rally. They cut the lead to 13-11 and then went on a 7-3 run for an 18-16 lead. Dell Rapids scored the next three points to regain the lead 19-18. After a 20-20 tie, Dell Rapids went ahead 22-21 and then scored the final three points for a 25-21 victory.
Randall had 22 set assists, 13 digs, five blocks, seven kills, and an ace. Henry had 12 kills, eight digs, and two ace serves. Kloth added 10 kills, two blocks, two aces, and a set assist. Schoenhard finished with five kills, three blocks, and two ace serves. Wolff had 14 digs and five ace serves. Ingalls had nine digs and four aces, and Fiddelke ended with nine digs, two ace serves, and a kill.
Henry and Randall were both named to the All-Tournament team. The Quarriers finished the season with an overall record of 28-7.
