The Broncs are headed into the final month of their regular season with a 15-8 record. They are currently sitting second in region 8A and 13th of all 65 teams in class A. Here is a recap of the games they have completed since the last issue.
On September 12th, the Broncs sent the Bowman County Bulldogs back to their doghouse in three straight sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-18. Sloan Young led the defense with 13 digs followed by Avery Cherveny with 11. Mataya Ward had 19 kills and Young had 12. Reese Larson had 29 assists to round out the homecoming game stats. The following
Thursday night saw the Broncs at Hot Springs for another sweep. Larson had 27 assists and Sarah Juelfs was 15 for 15 on serves. Ward and Young had 16 and 10 kills respectively. Cherveny and Ward each had 11 digs. Scores were 25-21, 25-15, and 25-16. The following week brought up a tiebreaker match up between the Broncs and Rapid City Christian. The Comets came away with the home court win in four sets, but the Broncs showed great promise as they battled it out. Larson had 24 assists and 2 aces. Cherveny also contributed 2 aces as well as Ward for 3. Young had 11 digs with Cherveny at 10, while Ward also put the ball to the floor for 13 kills. Scores were 10-25, 20-25, 25-20, and 19-25.
The Bronc Volleyballers played another four set match Thursday the 21st of September, but came out victorious this time. Scores against the Winner Warriors were 27-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-17. Larson had 8 aces and 37 assists for one of her best statistical games to that point of the season. Her younger sister Denali contributed two solo blocks for points. Young and Ward secured 16 kills each for a balanced offensive attack from the outside hitters. Cherveny kept the ball off the floor with 21 digs.
Belle Fourche hosted their annual Varsity tournament on the following Saturday. The Broncs beat Lakota Tech in 2 sets with scores of 25-17 and 25-19, before losing to Philip and Hill City each 2 sets to 1. Leaders of the tournament include Ward, Young, and Juelfs on the offense with 33, 30, and 13 kills respectively. Larson fed them with 68 assists and contributed 22 digs. Ward added 35 digs and a solo block for defense.
Another clean sweep took place in Custer on the 26th with scores of 25-16, 27-25, and 25- 23. Ward had 15 kills followed by Young for 12. Young also went 9 for 9 with an ace from the serving line. Ward and Cherveny contributed 12 and 11 digs for the Broncs and Juelfs added a solo block. Strong serving and three players with double doubles helped the Broncs secure a big win 3 sets to 1 against the #6 ranked Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers. Young, Ward, and R Larson each had double double nights. Young with 17 digs and 11 kills, Ward with 15 digs and 21 kills, and Larson with 12 digs and 30 assists. Ward also contributed 5 blocks and 3 aces. Olivia Nehl was 15 for 16 with 1 ace behind the line, Juelfs was 10/12 with 2 aces, and R Larson was 19 for 20 with 4 aces. Scores were 25- 27, 25-18, 25-22, and 25-14.
Belle Fourche found its way into the Gold Bracket of the Redfield Tournament the following morning, Saturday the 30th, battling more East River power programs throughout the day. The Broncs won both morning pool play matches 2-0 against Potter County and Redfield. They then matched up against Class B #1 ranked team, undefeated Warner, and lost 0-2 before losing 1-2 to Class A ranked #4 Miller. Leaders for the tournament were Ward with 11 aces, 48 kills, 10 blocks, and 23 digs. Cherveny had 22 digs and Hatling had 6 blocks to aid the defense. Young also had 17 digs and 23 kills. R Larson contributed 59 assists followed by Syd Pelster stepping in to dish out 13 more. Both Young and Ward were selected for the All-Tournament team.
Undefeated Faith traveled to the Edwin Petranek Armory and were handed their first loss of the season in a four set match. Scores were 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, and 25-20. Ward had 28 kills and 23 digs. Young also had a double double with 15 kills and 14 digs. Cherveny was 13/14 with one ace serving and had 17 digs while Juelfs was 18/19 with an ace and added in 8 digs. Larson had 42 assists and 2 aces while serving 12/13.
The Belle Fourche team also secured some power points in a defeat of AA school Douglas 3 sets to 1. Two of the matches required volleyball’s equivalent of overtime, going past 25, but the Broncs proved disciplined and secured each of those sets. Scores were 27-25, 25-21, 28- 26, and 25-18. Katelynn Lee was 5 for 5 from the serving line and contributed 5 kills while Cherveny had 22 digs and a kill from the backrow. Larson, Young, and Ward all recorded another double double each. Larson had 12 digs, 43 assists, and assisted with 4 blocks. Ward had 27 kills, 26 digs, and 7 blocks. Young tallied in 13 kills and 16 digs to prove a key part in the Broncs’ victory.
Only a few regular season matches remain for the Broncs with Red Cloud coming to town October 12th starting with the C games at 4pm. The Varsity will play in a tournament at Douglas on the 14th before returning back home for Senior night against St Thomas More on the 17th.
The final regular season game will be in Hill City on the 24th. Playoffs will be announced once final games have been played and seed points calculated. First round will be on the 30th at the highest seed. Come watch the girls play and you won’t be disappointed!
