By Joe Kavanaugh

For 605 Sports

A donnybrook expected. A donnybrook delivered. 

Not unexpected from a South Dakota Class B State Championship game highlighted by a couple of perennial powerhouses, defending champion and top-seeded Chester Flyers and No. 2 seeded Warner Monarchs. Nor it hurt that both teams are coached by South Dakota coaching legends, Chester’s Jean O’Hara and Warner’s Kari Jung.

With the Class AA and A contests included, all eyes were glued to the fifth and final set to see Chester clinch back-to-back state titles by rallying from a 2-1 deficit to close out an 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 15-10 victory.

Warner came out on fire rolling to a 25-18 win spurred by an unheard-of 13-point run early in the set. Chester narrowed the gap to 20-15 at one point before the Monarchs closed it out. 

“They sure did and give all the credit to Warner,” Chester coach, Jean O’Hara said. “They came out fired up and ready to play, and we played in slow motion. They kind of handed it to us, but the best part of volleyball is that you get to forget set one and move on to set two and I was grateful for that.”

Chester claimed the second set though it didn’t come easily. The score was knotted at 20, 22, and 23 before kills by Jacy Wolf (20 kills in the match) and Lily Van Hal (19) began to take control at crucial times, a characteristic that would flourish often.

Undaunted, Warner rallied to take set three 25-23 in a squeaker, the deciding point off a Chester service error, one of the few Flyer service miscues in the match.

The fourth and fifth sets were all Flyer ran off a couple of long runs in the fourth set enroute to an easy 25-15 win and setting up a nail-biting final set. 

“I think it was just a case of the kids stepping up,” O’Hara said. “We had our backs against the wall and said in the huddle, we don’t get to play set five unless we win set four. And we had the necessary mindset to go out and do that and the kids responded.”

A block by Emillee Bleeker and a couple of Jacy Wolf kills propelled Chester to an 8-3 advantage and though fighting gamely Warner was unable to significantly close the gap, largely due to the big swings of Wolf who had five kills in the final set including the state championship point. 

Chester Area's Alexis Bauman (5), Lizzie Peterson (7) and Jacy Wolf (10) celebrate the Flyers win over Warner 3-2 on Saturday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.

Balance across all phases of the game has been the hallmark of Chester’s success this season. Both in terms of varied player contributions and the multifaced talents of players. A trio of front-row attackers, most notably Jacy Wolf, knock down hills from antenna to antenna while junior Lily Van Hal impresses from either front or back row.

“I thought our defense stepped up and made some big plays for us when it counted in the last two sets,” O’Hara added. “And you can’t say enough about Jacy (Wolf) and Lily (Van Hal). Those two girls, they say jump on my shoulder and we are going to get a championship for us. Sometimes when you struggle those types of players step and make plays. Katelynn had some big swings for us on the right side and Emillie Bleeker had big blocks for us, too. And all-around team effort and a big celebration in Chester tomorrow.”

Kyleigh Schopp led Warner with 11 kills while McKenna Leidbolt chipped in with 10 kills.
Jordyn Jensen contributed 27 digs to the Monarch cause.