RAPID CITY — Linda DeBoer took a few deep breaths and succinctly summed up Miller’s five-set win over Wagner. 

“In the game of volleyball, there’s momentum swings and this was definitely one of those,” the veteran Miller coach said on Thursday. “But people pay good money for their tickets. So we gave them a good show.”

They did indeed. Miller outlasted Wagner in a well-played five-set match full of ups and downs at the Class A volleyball tournament. The set scores were 25-23, 25-18, 11-25, 22-25 and 15-12. 

“It was hard,” Miller senior outside hitter Shaylee Anderberg said. “We always have good competition during the season, but our team, we play so together and even when the score shows we are down, we aren't down and we still believe in each other and we have that trust.”

In the first two sets, the Rustlers (29-6) and Red Raiders (26-5) both played at a high level and the margin for error was razor thin. In the first set, both teams built three-point leads and each took turns surging back ahead. Wagner was clinging to a 24-22 lead, but Miller rattled off three straight points for a two-point win. 

The second set was again nip and tuck, with eight ties and five lead changes. The Rustlers trailed 18-16, but scored the final nine points for a 2-0 lead. 

“I thought the first two sets were great,” DeBoer said. “We came out and stuck to our game plan and our focuses and I thought the girls played great. They served great. We kept trying to get them out of system. They are a great team with great hitters and their height and their athleticism is just incredible. We knew we were going to have to move the ball around a little bit more.”

With their backs against the wall, Wagner responded with a convincing victory in the third set and managed to hold off Miller in the fourth set.   

“They got some momentum and volleyball is a game of momentum and they just got a little bit more of it,” said Anderberg, who finished with 16 kills and 14 digs. “But we still just trust each other and we got it done.”

The fifth set was more of the same. Wagner took a 5-2 lead, Miller surged back for a 9-8 advantage and never relinquished the lead. 

DeBoer praised her young Rustlers for maintaining their composure in the electric atmosphere. 

“These girls have accepted their roles and they’ve had quite a season and this just proves that they belong here,” DeBoer said. 

Paige Werdel powered Miller with 20 kills and added six digs, an assisted block and a solo block. Aleah Schlechter had nine kills, an assist, two aces and three digs. Jolie Palmer finished with 31 digs and had three assists and two aces. Heather Resel had 43 assists, two kills, an ace and three digs. Gracen Werdel had six kills, an assist and an ace.

Ashlyn Koupal led Wagner with 21 kills and added 16 digs and assisted on two blocks. Kya 

Kjeldgaard added 14 kills to go along with 18 digs, a solo block and three assisted blocks. Macy Koupal dished out 41 assists and had a kill and 23 digs. Shona Kocer finished with eight kills and seven digs while Madi Knebel had an ace and 26 digs. 

Wagner will play Dakota Valley on Friday in the consolation semifinals. 

Miller will play Rapid City Christian on Friday in the championship semifinals. 

“They are probably going to have a little bit of a home court advantage,” DeBoer said. “But it will be a good match. They are a really good ball club that we don't know a lot about either. So 2 vs. 3 we will see how that comes out.”