By Matt Gade

605 Sports

PHILIP — The last time the Bennett County Warriors volleyball team qualified for a state volleyball tournament, the Lady Warriors’ head coach, Amy (O’Neill) Petrak, was a sophomore in high school at Bennett County.

On Tuesday night, the Warriors took care of business, defeating the Cowgirls from Lemmon 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20) for the sweep to win a SoDak 16 match and earn a trip to the Class B state tournament next week in Rapid City.

“I've expected it from the very beginning,” Petrak said of qualifying for the state tournament. “It's the fact that they just sometimes second-guess themselves, and they don't always believe. But I could see it, I could see it for a long time, and I'm glad that they've finally proven to themselves that they are as good as they are.”

The Warriors (36-5) came into Tuesday’s matchup as the No. 5 seed with Lemmon (28-6) as the No. 12 seed.

Petrak said the key for the Lady Warriors has been confidence. Confidence in their ability, confidence in their teammates and not dwelling on mistakes.

“I feel like it's our energy. We celebrate each and every one of our points, and even on the bad ones, we celebrate the good things that came out of that,” junior Olivia McMillan said. “And it's our hustle and our dedication to get that ball over.”

Petrak is one of three juniors on the team. A team that doesn’t have a single senior on the roster. Raven Heathershaw and Madi Waln are the other juniors on the team.

Petrak is also one of the three team captains, along with sophomores Reagan O’Neill and Harley Harris.

“I just try to bring the energy to the team,” O’Neill said in her role as a team captain. “I feel like every time we have energy, we're on point each game. Because I think energy is better than getting kills. If we don't have energy, we don't get the kills.”

O’Neill had a team-high 17 kills in Tuesday night’s match-up while adding a pair of aces. 

Freshman Peyson O’Neill was second on the team with eight kills. 

McMillan had a team-high four aces while adding six kills.

For the girls on the team, most of them played together on the Lady Warriors basketball team this past winter, where the Warriors saw themselves come out as the Class B state champions. 

That camaraderie from playing together in other sports and winning as underclassmen is a big part of their success this year, according to O’Neill.

“It feels like yesterday,” O’Neill said of winning the state championship in basketball last year. “Seriously, but we're hungry. We want it in every sport. We're gonna go and get in. And it's crazy, because our coach was there the last time they got there, and she's the one coaching us, leading us into it. We know she's gonna do everything she can to get us there.”

This season, the Warriors lost early to fellow Class B foes Burke, and Lyman back in September. The Lady Warriors' other three losses come from Valentine (Neb.) in the first game of the year and to Class A teams Hill City and Rapid City Christian.

Coach Petrak said this team isn’t the same team that started the year and is hopeful their losses to the Class A schools have helped prepare them heading into the state tournament.

“Hopefully that competition is pretty close to the same, you know, big blocks, big swings. I mean, we have to have it in our heads,” Petrak said. “It's a confidence issue for us.”

O’Neill, who was recently selected as the Western Great Plains Conference volleyball MVP, said part of what’s made her have so much success this year is trusting her teammates and not feeling like the pressure is on her.

“It’s not just me, either. Every girl on the court has a role, and they all fill their roles to the fullest,” O’Neill said. “Without each one of them, we would do nothing. We need all of us to complete the team.”

The Lady Warriors earned the fifth-seed and will meet fourth-seeded Parkston on Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Class B state tournament for a 12:45 p.m. (MT) match at The Monument in Rapid City. 

“100% we're coming there to win,” McMillan said. “I'm just proud to be a Warrior, and I mean, we're gonna bring it. Be expecting these underdogs. It's all on our backs now, so we need to bring that energy that we brought tonight and find that fire again.”