Last week, the Garretson Lady Dragons took on the challenge of the Region 3A Quarterfinals, the first leg of post season play.
On Tuesday, the 5th-seeded team headed to Dell Rapids to face the Quarriers, a 4th-seeded competitor whom Garretson had vanquished 3-0 earlier in the season. This time, the teams were evenly matched, with the Dragons taking sets 1 (25-19) and 3 (25-16) and the Quarriers taking sets 2 (21-25) and 4 (22-25). In the decisive fifth set, Garretson took the challenge and plunged ahead, grabbing the lead and the set 15-10.
In the first set, the Lady Dragons exchanged the lead until they tied 7-7, when the Quarriers grabbed the advantage and gathered five points to Garretson's one. Then sitting at 12-8, the Dragons rallied and re-tied the set 17-17. They pulled ahead, keeping the Quarriers to 2 more points while they gathered the 8 more points necessary to take the set.
In set two, the Dragons again traded the lead with the Quarriers until they tied 10-10, when the Quarriers took the advantage and went on an 8-point run to Garretson's 1 point to end at 18-11. While the Dragons attempted to claw their way back and nearly made it with a 9-point run of their own, Dells continued to sink the ball into the Dragons' court and took the winning point, 21-25.
Set three saw Garretson rally forcefully and give it their all, taking an 8-point lead after tying 7-7 early in the set. They put two more points into the Quarriers' court to stretch it to 20-10. After the Quarriers wrenched six more points out of the Dragons to narrow the advantage, the Dragons took the set 25-16.
The Quarriers started strong in the fourth set, taking a 5-point lead over Garretson, 7-2. The Dragons worked to re-take the set and tied at 18-18, then kept the lead until 22-20. At that point, the Quarriers took a bite out of the competitors and won 22-25.
The decisive fifth set upon them, the Dragons held the lead until the Quarriers caught up 5-5. Not looking to lose the game, the Dragons snagged the lead again and kept it throughout the rest of the set, winning 15-10.
Seniors Logan Bly and Anna Jones, along with sophomore Aleah Wagner, led the team in kills with 18, 11, and 11 respectively. Bly and senior Grace Hove each accumulated 3 aces to add to their season totals. Sophomore Sydney Olson added another ace to the total, polished off the game with 22 assists, and led in digs with 12. Wagner and Kaylin Koch had 11 and 10 digs each as Hove added 15 more assists to her season score.
On Thursday, the Lady Dragons headed to Sioux Falls to take on 1st-seeded Sioux Falls Christian, a team that took the championship win from the Dragons last season. The Chargers had a nearly 10-game advantage over the Dragons for the 2022 season, with a season score of 28-5 to the Dragons' 19-7. SFC took the wind out of Garretson's sails, winning the game in three sets with scores of 8-25, 4-25, and 15-25, ending the Dragons' season.
The Chargers snagged the lead out of the gate, going on a 6-point run before the Dragons grabbed their first point. Now heartened, the Dragons took 4 points before SFC could get one more, 4-8. The run ended there, as SFC took charge again and went on another run, widening the gap to 10, then 17 for a score of 4-17. Not a team to take it on the chin, the Dragons rallied for two more points before the Chargers went on another 3-point run, 6-20. Garretson scored another two points to bring them to 8, then served a ball into the net to put the opponents at set point 8-24. SFC took the set with a kill that kept the Dragons from being able to dig effectively.
The second set was even more brutal, with the Chargers going on a 14-point run to Garretson's 2 points. The Chargers kept the Dragons on the ground while they took charge, widening the gap to 3-20 and 4-23 before ending the set on a kill, 4-25.
The Dragons took the first point out of set three, before a wide kill sent the ball back into SFC's service. Garretson continued putting up a fight, keeping the game tight with a score of 4-7 after some solid plays. The team stayed at the Chargers' heels, going to 8-10 and 10-11 before the Chargers went on a 3-point run. Now sitting at 11-13, the Dragons lost their groove as the Chargers packed the scoreboard, getting to 23 points before Garretson got one more, 13-23. SFC took one more point to look at set point, but before letting the game go, the Dragons pulled out two more points to bring them to 15-24. The Chargers took advantage of a hole in the middle of the court to pull off the win, 15-25 and ending the Dragons' season.
The game saw Bly pull off 4 kills, Koch snag 2, and Olson and Wagner each grabbing one. Bly had the only ace, while Koch led in digs with 8. Olson, Hove, Wagner, and Bly each had five digs. The game was rough on assists, with Olson, Wagner, and Bly acquiring two each.
Good work on the season Blue Dragons!
