RAPID CITY — It took just three sets for the Lady Flyers to win three straight.

In the fourth consecutive Class B state championship meeting, Chester swept Warner in straight sets to claim its third consecutive Class B state championship at The Summit Arena at The Monument. The set scores were 25-23, 25-16 and 25-18.

“It feels amazing,” said junior Jacy Wolf. “We worked really hard year-round. We had a big target on our back but we just kept going.”

The Flyers made quick work of a match that went five sets each of the last two seasons, sweeping a highly-talented Monarch team making its sixth consecutive trip to the Class B title match. Chester coach Jean O’Hara said postgame she didn’t anticipate a dominant Flyers win over the familiar foe. 

“I think sometimes as a coach you’re hopeful that things go that way, but no not at all,” said O’Hara. “I figured this would be a battle just like the previous three years have been. I think coach (Kari) Jung does a great job with her program. Those are some younger players and they’re good so we had our work cut out for us tonight.”

The Flyers took control in the middle part of set one with an 11-9 lead, increasing it to as much as five points later in the set. But the Monarchs continued to battle, tying three separate times late in the set. Tied at 23, the Flyers claimed the 1-0 match advantage on back-to-back errors by the Monarchs.

“Perhaps experience tonight,” O’Hara said on the biggest factor in the win. “I think when our kids needed to step up and make plays we were able to do that. Sometimes in a match it only takes one or two little things to get that tiny gap and when you have that, you’re going to be successful. I think it just came down to a few things that kind of went our way.”

Set two was much of the same with the Flyers dominating throughout, building a lead as large as eight with a 22-14 lead, before closing out the second frame 25-16.

Chester celebrates their win over Warner for the Class B state championship on Saturday at Summit Arena during the state volleyball tournament in Rapid City. (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)

The Flyers rarely faced a deficit throughout the entire championship match, and coach O’Hara added how important keeping the momentum with Chester was in the win.

“Volleyball is so much like that, it’s very much a momentum sport and you want to make sure you stay steady and not let that other team have those big runs,” O’Hara said.

It also helps to have an experienced and senior-heavy team to battle for a title. The Lady Flyers were powered by many of its seven seniors over the past years in this same championship, giving them an advantage over a younger Monarch squad.

“There’s a big rivalry between us and that kind of just pushed us,” Wolf said. “We have a lot of seniors and we just wanted them to end with a win for sure.”

And the Flyers saved one of its best sets of the season for last, going up early and staying ahead the whole way, closing out its third consecutive championship with a sweep.

“I think we knew we had to give it all we got,” Van Hal said of the championship. “With having such a big group of seniors, we knew we had to go and when the time came down to it we used our experience and our mentality to go.”

Van Hal and Wolf, who were selected to the Class B all-tournament team, were pivotal pieces all season, but no bigger performance than Saturday’s championship. Van Hal tallied 15 kills, 14 assists and 10 digs with a block and an ace while Wolf added 16 assists, 14 kills and 11 digs as well.

“They are the heart and soul of our team and they make big plays when we need to make big plays, but I think tonight and this whole tournament has been such a good mixture of our kids,” O’Hara said of Van Hal and Wolf.

Warner’s Jaycee Jung had 17 kills and 10 digs, MaKenna Leidholt added seven kills and six digs, Reagan Wood dished out 11 assists with 14 digs while Kaydee Mackner had five kills in the loss. Warner ended its season with a 35-7 record.

Emmerson Eppard added seven kills and four digs, Gracie Huntimer had 19 digs and four assists Katleyn Schut had six blocks and three kills while Emilie Bleeker tallied five blocks in the win as well. The Flyers end a historic season with a 33-1 record, losing just five sets all season, capturing its fourth volleyball championship in school history.