by Kelsey Buchholz, Assistant Volleyball Coach
The Garretson Blue Dragon Volleyball team opened the regular season at Tri-Valley on August 25. They took down the Mustangs, 3-1, and haven't looked back since.
The Blue Dragons were on a roll taking down their first seven competitors, including the opening two rounds of the Big East Conference.
Garretson was slated to host the opening round of the Big East Conference (BEC), where the first two games are typically held. However, due to COVID-19, the tournament format was altered. Trying to keep only two teams in a building at once, the first round of the BEC tournament changed. Rather than having four teams a site with two sites in use, it became the high seeds hosting the opening round.
This gave Garretson the opportunity to still host. They squared off against the visiting Beresford Watchdogs. Garretson had played Beresford earlier in the season, and took down the Watchdogs in three sets. The results were mirrored this second time around as Garretson won 25-7, 25-13, 25-6.
The other top seeds also advanced to the second round, and keeping with the expectation of only two schools at one site, the high seeds hosted the semifinals at 10:00 am Saturday morning. So the Blue Dragons (#4) traveled to Chester Area (#1) for the semifinals.
Garretson opened up with a slight lead over the Flyers, opening up 7-2, but Chester quickly closed the gap, knotting the game at 12-12. It was all Flyers from there as they won the first set 25-17 which was maybe predicted being the #1 seed in the tournament.
However, the Blue Dragons had something to prove and weren't ready for their first loss of the season. They flipped the tides in the second set, beating Chester 25-16. The third set went back into Chester's hands as they took down Garretson 25-22.
The fourth set played out very similar to the first, with Garretson taking an early lead, Chester tying the game midway, and then taking control. At one point in the game the Flyers were up 21-14. Garretson had to score 11 before Chester found four more points. Garretson did not roll over though, as the Blue Dragons picked at the lead, and halted the Flyers at 24-22. The Blue Dragons then ran the board for the final four points of the game, winning 26-24.
This pushed the game to the fifth and decisive set, a race to 15. Garretson kept the momentum and took the fifth set 15-11, winning the game 3-2, taking down the #1 seed in the tourney.
Garretson advanced to the championship game, traveling to Parker for a 5:00 pm competition. The two road trips during the day and emotional exhaustion from an intense semifinal game took its toll on the Blue Dragons.
They squared off against Parker and had a few plays not go their way due to unforced errors, and the Pheasants kept pounding the ball. Parker took down the Dragons 25-16, 25-17, 25-19. The two teams will face each other later in the regular season with Garretson looking for a more competitive matchup and a little redemption.
Stats for the BEC tourney were as follows:
Kills:
Lily Ranschau - 28
Kennedy Buckneberg - 26
Logan Bly - 17
Anna Jones - 8
Assists:
Jaelyn Benson - 46
Peyton Hove - 29
Digs:
Lauren Heesch - 65
Lily Ranschau - 34
Jaelyn Benson - 33
Logan Bly - 20
Maren Bonte - 18
Peyton Hove - 18
Kennedy Buckneberg - 16
Blocks:
Logan Bly - 2 Block Solos, 10 Block Assists
Kennedy Buckneberg - 6 Block Assists
Anna Jones - 1 Block Solo, 5 Block Assists
Mattea Fiegen - 1 Block Solo, 5 Block Assists Aces:
Jaelyn Benson - 5
Lily Ranschau - 5
Maren Bonte - 3
Peyton Hove - 3
Lauren Heesch - 3
Logan Bly - 2
Garretson played Flandreau Tuesday night, results were not available at press time. Their next game is Monday, September 21 at Vermillion. Then they turn around to host Dell Rapids Tuesday and Chester Thursday in the Dragons Lair.
