By Matt Gade

605 Sports

SIOUX FALLS — As they did through the regular season, the Harrisburg Tigers capped the 2024 season with an exclamation point to their perfect season with their third-straight Class AA state championship.

Throughout the tournament, the Tigers put on a nearly flawless performance and continued their winning streak of 78 straight wins.

For head coach Ronette Costain, she said it’s been a work in progress over the years to build the program into the powerhouse that it has become.

“Over the last five years or so…we're not just getting like one or two talented players in a class, we're getting three or four. And when you can do that, and you have another class right behind it, not a gap year, you know you're going to be successful,” Costain said. “Right now, our kids are doing that. They've raised the bar.

“It's extremely competitive. We got 30 some kids this year. Everybody wants to be a part of what we're doing, but they know in order to do so, there's going to be an expectation of what you have to do in the off-season. Some are willing to put in that sacrifice, and others just saying it's not for them.”

Heading into the state tournament, Harrisburg made quick work of the Golden Eagles from Aberdeen Central 25-16, 25-18, 25-14, before the Tigers met Sioux Falls O’Gorman in the semifinals.

Costain said the O’Gorman Knights played some of their best volleyball all season against the Tigers and took a set from the Tigers before Harrisburg won 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21.

On the opposite side of the bracket, Sioux Falls Washington was playing their best volleyball of the season. The Warriors went five sets with a determined Sioux Falls Roosevelt  20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 15-10. Then in the semis, Washington would avenge their two regular season losses to Sioux Falls Jefferson taking care of the Cavaliers in three sets 25-20, 25-13, 25-16. 

Heading into the state championship the Tigers, who haven’t lost a match since Oct. 4, 2022, to Western Christian (Iowa), met the Warriors in the Saturday nightcap in front of a packed arena.

Despite the Warriors playing their best volleyball, the Tigers were playing some of theirs.

“We talk about playing up to our ability, not to our opponent, not to anybody else's expectation. I don't think anybody puts more pressure on our kids than themselves,” Costain said. “They expect to be good. If they make a mistake, that's just not acceptable to them.”

While up 2-0 on the Warriors, the Sioux Falls Washington showed they still had fight in them, bouncing back to take the third set 26-24 over the Tigers.

Harrisburg wasn’t going to let that happen again.

“We walked into that huddle after the third set, I went and wrote my lineup. I came back, and the first thing I heard out of their mouth was, ‘this isn't happening, not today.’ And I knew that we were going to be fine,” Costain said. “They were mad that they had let it go…they were upset that they didn't just get it done in three.”

The Harrisburg bench celebrates a point while head coach Ronette Costain calls for the next serve during The Tigers against Sioux Falls Washington Warriors during the Class AA championship match in the state tournament on Saturday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Harrisburg showed it wasn't letting the Warriors get another one on them, taking the match in four 25-14, 25-17, 24-26, 25-13 to cap off the second straight perfect season for the Tigers.

“Everybody brought their A-game because they had to, and they did,” Costain said. “And it's fun to see, because that's how those kids, whether they're getting the championship or not, your last game should be your best game. You are giving everything you got, and they did.”

All season, Harrisburg showed its determination to win, never letting a match go five sets. 

Some of the best competition the Tigers saw this season was during a tournament at Skutt Catholic in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Tigers faced multiple high schools showcasing numerous future college players.

“They were rock stars going down to that Skutt tournament and playing the level of teams we played down there with many DI recruits playing and commits playing against us,” Costain said. “There were so many bigs, it just felt like just being thrown from one side of the court to the other. And the amount of the crazy defense that my team did, I think that's the thing we improved on the most from last year to this year, was our defensive side of things.”

While the Tigers graduate two seniors - Maggie Meister who will play collegiately at South Dakota State, and Karalynn Leach at Augustana University - Costain said she’s not worried about replacing the talent of her two seniors but replacing their leadership on the court.

“We're not going to miss a beat. The thing we're going to miss most out of our two seniors is their leadership, their commitment and their heart,” Costain said. “We're excited for their futures and to follow them and see their success.

“But of course, I was already thinking last night as I'm laying in bed what my next lineup is going to be and what we're doing. I've got — it's a coach's brain. I don't know what to tell you,” she said with a chuckle.