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Wolsey-Wessington outlasts Northwestern in five-set thriller
Wolsey-Wessington's Tatume Luce (7), Mallory Miller (10) and Emree White (13) celebrate a point against Northwestern on Thursday in Sioux Falls.
(Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Wolsey-Wessington outlasts Northwestern in five-set thriller

Nov 17, 2022
  

By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports 

SIOUX FALLS — Wolsey-Wessington made quite the state volleyball tournament debut on Thursday.

The Warbirds, who are playing in their first-ever state tournament, outlasted perennial powerhouse Northwestern in a five-set thriller at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. The set scores were 25-19, 25-20, 14-25, 21-25 and 19-17 in the lone five-set match of the first session. 

“We were super, super grateful to be here and super excited to get here,” Wolsey-Wessington senior middle hitter Mallory Miller said. “But we want to do more. We don’t want to stop at just getting to the state tournament.” 

The match featured the No. 4 vs. No. 5 seeds and it didn’t disappoint. They played eight common opponents during the season and duked it out earlier in the season, a five-set Northwestern win on Aug. 25.

It was more of the same on Thursday. 

“I think since they are a common opponent that really helped us out,” said Miller, who had 11 kills and three solo blocks. “We just kind of knew what they were going to do and how they were going to play and even though they switched up their sets a little bit, we were still ready and expected what they were going to do.”

The Warbirds (29-4) held off the Wildcats (27-9) in the first two sets for a 2-0 match advantage. But Northwestern, which was playing in its 22nd state tournament, rallied and evened the match at 2-2. 


“They are a super resilient team and are able to fight back,” Miller said. “So we had to be ready all the time.”

The fifth set is when the intensity cranked up a notch. The final set featured six ties and five lead changes. The set was tied at 12-12, 14-14, 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17 as both teams traded swings in the high-intense setting. 

“I think the main thing for us is talking and being composed,” Miller said. “Because if we get frazzled, we don’t play as well and we want to be playing our best right now.” 

Wolsey-Wessington scored the final two points on a Leah Williams kill and a block to secure the match. 

Wolsey-Wessington’s Mya Boomsma finished with 20 kills and 19 digs. Williams added 11 kills and 29 digs. Lainey Uttecht added 22 digs. Payton ​​Kemnitz dished out 27 assists. 

Northwestern’s Ella Haven pounded out a match-high 30 kills, to go along with eight digs and three solo blocks. Ashley Haven logged 17 kills and 11 digs. Ella Boekelheide posted 24 digs, while Brooklinn Halverson had 43 assists and 20 digs. Payton Grandpre added 15 digs. 

Northwestern will play Freeman at 11:15 a.m. Friday in the consolation semifinals. 

Wolsey-Wessington will play Warner at 5 p.m. Friday in the championship semifinals. The Warbirds were swept by the Monarchs on Aug. 29 in Warner earlier this season. 

Wolsey-Wessington's Mya Boomsma puts down a kill against Northwestern on Thursday in Sioux Falls. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)