RAPID CITY — The Raiders are consolation champions.

Gayville-Volin closed out its weekend and season with a 3-0 sweep over Parkston, securing its first-ever consolation championship at the Class B state volleyball tournament at The Summit Arena at The Monument. The set scores were 25-8, 26-24 and 25-21.

“I think they performed great,” said GV coach Allison Jones. “This is probably the best showing we’ve had at the state tournament in recent years. I can’t be upset with how they played because they did phenomenal.”

The Raiders jumped on Parkston early and often in the opening set with an 18-5 lead before securing set one 25-8. Libero Taylor Hoxeng says the team always comes out hot, but it especially showed today.

“We always come out really strong,” Hoxeng said. “This weekend especially, we always come out strong in that first set. In the second set, things get a little hairy so I’m glad we got that second set.”

But in set two, the Raiders faced some adversity when sophomore setter Kendra Beeck went down with a leg injury. And for a team with just nine varsity players, it called on Kaylee Wuebben to take over the role.

“We have a short bench but Kaylee Wuebben, she can play any position you put her in,” Jones said. “That’s why we’ve got her on the roster and she went in there and did her job. Sometimes putting in a different player can change the momentum of the game, but she jumped right in there and she handled it really well.”

Tied at 12 in set two, Parkston went on an 8-3 run for a 20-15 advantage. The Raiders dug deep to tie it at 22-22. After trading points, GV came out in set two with a gritty 26-24 set win.

“Kaylee Wuebben did an amazing job stepping in, that’s really hard on this kind of stage and I’m so proud of her,” Hoexeng said of the set two comeback. “Mentally, it could’ve been really hard for us to be down, but we didn’t. We were resilient today.”

“Parkston came out hot in that second set and they weren’t ready to lose,” Jones added. “We were just able to respond and be resilient during that game. Some things weren’t going that way and we didn’t have a perfect second set but we worked our way back into the game.”

Parkston took the early lead in set three holding a 6-2 lead, but Raiders once again fought back to tie it eight. After each team exchanged leads, The Raiders jumped ahead 20-17 later in the set before closing it out on a GV block secured the win and the consolation ‘ship.

Parkston’s Keeara Oakley had 20 digs, 11 kills and five blocks, Berkley Ziebart tallied 23 digs, Finley Bogenreif dished out 18 assists and nine digs while Addison Koehn had 15 digs in the loss. Parkston ends its season with a 31-8 record.

GV’s Maia Achen had 15 kills and 16 digs, Beeck tallied 23 assists with five digs, Aliza Westrum netted eight kills and eight digs, Wuebben recorded 13 assists and three digs, Jolie Westrum had 20 digs and five kills, Paisley Dimmer netted 13 digs and seven kills while Taylor Hoxeng had 31 digs in the win.

Hoxeng added postgame after the emotional five-set loss to Northwestern Thursday, she was pleased with how the team ended the weekend.

“It definitely feels good. Bouncing back after Northwestern on Thursday night, I think this is a huge win for us,” Hoxeng said. “Mentally, it’s hard to bounce back after a tough game and losing like that so I’m just really happy with our team and the resilience we had.”

And for the team with just nine players, it ends the season with a 32-5 record, going 2-1 at the state tournament.

“We were just making jokes about the little team that could,” Jones said. “Even still, we’re a shorter team compared to some but we’ve got some athletes on our team and I wouldn’t change the roster for the world.”

Jones says she’ll miss “the togetherness” of the 2025 GV volleyball team, adding how important the two seniors, Hoxeng and Kayden Bye, were to the team.

“Just the togetherness,” Jones said. “They built a great bond this season and part of that is due to the seniors, and those two seniors will be greatly missed. There are some holes that are having to be filled next year and they set a pretty high bar.”

“I’m going to miss my team the most and just being out on the court with the girls, there’s nothing like it,” Hoxeng said.