LAS VEGAS — The Harrisburg Tigers will put their 83-match winning streak on the line against the nation’s best. 

Class AA volleyball power Harrisburg will play in the prestigious Durango Fall Classic on Sept. 19-20 in Las Vegas, Nevada, facing off against national powerhouse programs across the country. 

The Tigers (5-0) are ranked No. 14 nationally in the latest MaxPreps.com high school volleyball poll, and are gunning for their fourth consecutive state championship this November. 

Harrisburg coach Ronette Costain said the Durango Fall Classic officials invited the Tigers, basing it off their national ranking, winning streak and the number of future Division I players.

Once invited, Costain said the Tigers jumped at the opportunity. 

“If you are going to spend that kind of money to fundraise and go out there, you have to go out and be able to compete,” Costain said. “We felt even though we lost Maggie (Meister) and Kara (Leach) from last year that we still had the clientele to go do so.”

The Harrisburg School District is paying for the Tigers tournament registration, but other expenses were fundraised by the program. The Tigers hosted volleyball camps and also reached money through corporate sponsors to finance the trip. 

“I just want to thank all the sponsors who helped make it possible,” Costain said. “I want to thank the Harrisburg School District for thinking outside the box and being willing to let us go and represent them, as well as our community because they didn't have to say yes. But they did. So that support means a ton.”

The Tigers have a host of future college volleyball players. Therefore, the players have become accustomed to traveling for club volleyball tournaments. But this trip will be special, given they will be traveling as a team and representing South Dakota. 

“Our kids are going to get to have a memory that they will never, ever be able to take away,” Costain said. “They are going to go do this together. First time out of South Dakota other than O’Gorman back when Taryn Kloth was playing. So they are making history.”

Off the court, the trip will also serve as a team bonding opportunity, said Costain. But the Tigers are still treating it like a business trip. 

“These guys love to have fun together,” Costain said. “But on the court they’ve got some goals, and we want to go see if we can compete with these teams.”

On Thursday, Sept. 18, the Tigers will play an exhibition match against Marymount (California). Harrisburg will then play in the Durango Fall Classic on Friday and Saturday.

The tournament pairings will be released on Sept. 16. But Costain said the Tigers will be placed in one of the top pools, based on their résumé. 

“We are playing the best of the best,” Costain said. “So it’s go big or go home.”

The tournament features teams from Nevada, California, Kentucky, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, New York and Idaho. The tournament field includes more than 35 teams in the latest MaxPreps expanded top-50 rankings. 

Costain has done her research on several of the other top teams, and said the Tigers can match up physically with them. But said it’s a matter of cutting down on the unforced errors and added the Tigers are up for the challenge. 

“I do believe that we can play with anybody,” Costain said. “But you’ve got to show up. We’ve got to get past those mental hurdles and just make sure that we are playing the best ball that we can play and do our best.”