Bobcats falls to Warriors in finale

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BROOKINGS – The Bobcats had Sioux Falls Washington on the ropes!

Tied at one set apiece as each team won 25-20, Brookings led 14-8 after a Kailee Bartels’ kill midway through the third set, and still had a four-point edge, 20-16, following another Bartels’ kill.

But the second-seeded Warriors rolled off five straight points to take their first lead of the set.

Tied at 23-all, Washington scored on a tip kill over a Bobcat double-block attempt and then, took the set – and a 2-1 lead – after a Brookings hitting error.

Set 4 belonged to Washington as the visitors scored the first six points and extended their lead to 9-1 before the ‘Cats started to claw back into it by scoring five straight points as Kylie Tucker, Clarissa Miller and Bartels each put down an attack.

But a Bobcat serving error, followed by a Washington service ace, swung the momentum back to the Warriors as they cruised to a 25-12 set win and a 3-1 match win.

“We played smart, intense volleyball in Sets 1 through 3 – we were making good decisions,” said BHS head coach Jodi Melius. “We weren’t playing perfectly – we were making errors, but so was Washington, and two good teams are still going to make errors against each other, so I was definitely proud of our effort and the way we played in the first three sets.”

Melius confirmed that how the third set ended probably led to the Bobcats’ poor start in the fourth set.

“I think (that) had a big part of our mentality going into Set 4 – we knew Washington was a good team and we really thought we were going to take the lead after Set 3, and when things didn’t go that way at the end of the set, that can be disheartening,” she said.

Tucker tallied 11 kills, a solo block, four block assists and nine digs while Michaela Jewett notched 11 kills, 32 set assists, 14 digs and three aces as Brookings dropped to 14-13 overall and qualified as the ninth seed in the SoDak 16 standings.

Johanna Miller added nine kills and two block assists; Bartels had four kills and a block assist; Miller chipped in with three kills and a block assist; and Miranda Ysbrand collected 13 digs.

Lily Bartling led Washington, 27-5, with 19 kills; Samiya Jami contributed 12 kills, 23 digs and three aces; Aspen Langley put up 40 set assists; and Peyton Rymerson finished with 19 digs.

The Bobcats travel to Aberdeen on Thursday to face the eighth-seeded Golden Eagles for a shot at a state-tournament berth. Brookings owns a 25-19, 18-25, 25-12 and 26-24 regular-season win over Central, which finished the regular season with a 10-10 mark.

“I think our capability to play with the top teams in the state is definitely something that can benefit us long term, giving us confidence and the belief that we can play with any team in the state,” Melius said.

Subvarsity Results

JV – SFW 26-24, 25-23

SO – BHS 25-23, 27-29, 15-13

FR A – BHS 23-25, 25-19, 16-14

FR B – BHS 25-10, 25-6