Rangers one win from state meet

The Hill City High School volleyball team was looking to return to the Class A State Volleyball tournament via a victory over the Dell Rapids Quarriers last night in Chamberlain as part of SoDak 16 play. Results of the match were unavailable as of press time.

The Rangers returned to the SoDak 16 via a three sets to one victory in the second round of Region 8A play last Thursday at Gins Gym. The Rangers won 25-14, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21.

“I’m really proud of the way we performed against Belle. I felt pretty confident that we were going to pull out a win but Belle is a tenacious team that can be hard to combat,” head coach Allie Henderson said. “Looking at the stats it’s easy to see though how we come together as a team. Our successes are spread across everyone, all being individually valuable. Everybody knows their role and supports each other through thick and thin.”

Grace Peckosh had 16 assists for the Rangers, putting her at 987 for her career, while adding 14 digs and nine kills. Myah Larsen had 16 assists, 10 digs, nine kills and three aces, while Maggie Taylor led the way in the kill department with 13.

Henderson said even though the team was expecting a win, making the Sodak 16 is still an honor and everyone is very excited.

“Going into SoDak 16 can be a lot of pressure but the team seems to be in a good mental headspace right now,” she said. “We have some things we need to continue improving but we’re peaking at the right time. With some continued mental toughness and confidence I think we will have a great showing against Dell Rapids on Tuesday.”

The Rangers (27-6) entered SoDak 16 play as the 10th seed, while the Quarriers (25-6) entered as the seventh seed.