By Rich Winter

605 Sports

SIOUX FALLS — Trailing 6-1 in the decisive fifth set the Dakota Valley team hunkered down.

Behind the serving of Madelyn Munch and the hitting of Claire Munch the Panthers rallied to tie the score at 6-6. In a fifth set that featured nine ties it was a service error and a hitting error from Sioux Falls Christian that gave Dakota Valley the match with a 16-14 fifth set win. 

“It is so overwhelming and we are all like so excited,” senior Emmerson Mead said. “Sioux Falls Christian played a great game. We are really excited that we were able to compete with them and now we have the opportunity to fight for a Class A championship.” 

Dakota Valley picked up the win with set scores of 19-25, 28-26, 25-20, 15-25 and 16-4 improving to 31-5 on the season. Friday’s win by Dakota Valley stopped Sioux Falls Christian’s bid for an eighth consecutive Class A state volleyball title. 

Moments after the win Dakota Valley coach Erik Krenz talked about the feeling and heaped praise on the Panthers’ opponent.

“This feels phenomenal, absolutely incredible,” Krenz said. “You have to give an extreme amount of credit to Sioux Falls Christian and coach Darcy Wassenaar. They never give up and are one of the hardest fighting teams I’ve ever seen in my coaching career.” 

In a match that had multiple momentum swings and hundreds of ebbs and flows within the match, Krenz paid tribute to his leaders staying calm, even while trailing 6-1 in the fifth set.

“For that I really need to give credit to my seniors and my captains,” he said. “They were super level-headed and kept everyone calm on the court. They kept reminding everyone to breathe and kept saying, ‘leave your mistakes in the past and keep your eyes on the future.’’

After dropping the first set (19-25) and eking out the second set (28-26) the Panthers settled into a rhythm, particularly a serving rhythm in the third set they won 25-20. The Panthers finished with 10 aces in the evening. 

Blocking adjustments and the hitting of Sioux Falls Christian hitters Brietta Tims and Rachel Dieleman helped Sioux Falls Christian to a quick start in the fourth set, a set they won easily 25-15. 

After clinching the final set and the match Krenz couldn’t help but reflect on the hard work he’s been a first-hand witness to. 

“This is a dream come true for the girls,” he said. “They have been working for months with a lot of early mornings and late nights and weightlifting. Every win has been taken with gratitude and has been taken as a moment to learn.” 

Claire Munch led Dakota Valley with 31 kills, an ace and 25 digs. Madelyn Munch finished with 40 assists, five aces and 18 digs. Samantha Kimball had seven kills, two assists and five digs while Reagan Granstrom added six assists, two aces and 28 digs. 

Brietta Tims led Sioux Falls Christian with 25 digs, two assists, two aces and 26 digs. Addisen Barber finished with five kills, 54 assists and nine digs. Chloe Bosma added a kill, two assists, two aces and 45 digs and Rachel Dieleman chipped in with 16 kills, a dig and eight assisted blocks. 

Mead talked about the feeling of reaching the Class A state championship match. 

“It feels great as this is only my second year of playing varsity and making it to the championship is so overwhelming,” she said. “This is so exciting and all the dedication from my teammates makes every minute we put in so worthwhile.”