WHITE – Deubrook Area cruised past Wessington Springs and Estelline/Hendricks swept Wolsey-Wessington in a pair of Region 3B Volleyball Tournament quarterfinal matches Tuesday night.

The Dolphins (23-9) and Redhawks (20-13) square off in the semifinals Thursday at 6 p.m. in De Smet, with the winner advancing to the Round of 16.

Deubrook Area 3, Wessington Springs 0

The Dolphins won all three sets 25-9, as the quarterfinal matchup lasted just 45 minutes.

“I thought our kids came out and played really well,” said Deubrook head coach Rachelle DeBeer, whose team placed seventh in the state tourney a year ago. “You know, we were a little rocky towards the end of our season; we had a couple shaky nights out; we just weren’t consistent, we were all over.

“We were really worried about our service receive, and I thought our kids just came out and did a phenomenal job. They were very aggressive from the service line – we talk about that with them all year long. Also, we kept the heat on them and put balls in play; our kids did a good job of that.

“It’s a good start, but we’re on a tough side of the bracket. Estelline/Hendricks is a good team; we’ve played them twice and we match up with each other almost too well so it will be a tough battle for us on Thursday.”

The first set was tied at 4-4, before the Dolphins used a 9-1 run to pull away.

The Dolphins scored the first six points in both the second and third sets. They led 19-3 in Set 2.

“It was huge for us; and then I really felt like the kids just kind of relaxed a little bit and they just settled back into themselves,” DeBeer said of the fast starts. “We haven’t looked like us in a while – we’ve changed some things and been revamping some things and doing some things, and I felt like we looked comfortable again in our own skin a little bit.

“My cross country kids are getting their legs back, you can tell. You could see (Andrea’ Vandermeer) tonight with her jumping ability, she had a lot of kills tonight. That takes a lot out of those kids. I’m so proud of them, I’m so proud of what they do, but it’s hard on them. They’re just starting to come back a little bit so it’s good to have them back. You know, the longer we stay alive in the tournament, the stronger and fresher they actually get.”

Andrea’ Vandermeer totaled 11 kills, two service aces, a pair of blocks and nine digs. Ashley Vandermeer contributed 10 kills, three blocks and 15 digs.

Shaylee DeBeer added nine kills and two aces. DeBeer (15) and Sarah Urevig (13) combined for 28 set assists. Baylee Holmlund notched nine digs.

The Lady Spartans finished the season with a 15-14 record.

Estelline/Hendricks 3, Wolsey-Wessington 0

The Redhawks defeated the Lady Warbirds 25-15, 25-22, 25-18.

Estelline/Hendricks raced out to a 23-8 lead; however, Wolsey-Wessington closed the first set strong and, despite not rallying all the way back, gained some valuable momentum.

The Lady Warbirds built a 7-1 lead in Set 2, before the Redhawks rallied to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third, Estelline/Hendricks used a five-point spurt to take control, pulling away from a one-point advantage to grab an 18-12 lead. Wolsey-Wessington never got closer than four down the stretch.

“We didn’t play very well. I was disappointed in our performance; we didn’t do anything like we practiced,” said EH head coach Paul Chick. “We won, but it wasn’t a good win. We got the monkey off our back I think and hopefully we play better in the next round – and we’re going to have to.”

Despite the loss, the Redhawks did what they had to do in the postseason: survive and advance.

“Yes, yes; getting lucky enough to advance is a good thing, yes. We’re not going to rely on that though,” added Chick.

Kaylee Johnson led the way with 15 kills.

Sophie Johnson totaled 13 kills, two service aces, 1 1/2 blocks (one solo) and 18 digs.

Abigail Satterlee finished with five kills, 3 1/2 blocks (one solo) and a pair of aces.

Brinn Begalka guided the offense with 29 set assists while adding two aces. Cora Hofer notched 18 digs.

As for why Estelline/Hendricks struggled, Chick said he didn’t know.

“Honestly, we’re going to have to go back and watch film, look at some things, study,” he added. “We’re going to have to have a really good practice (Wednesday) to make sure that we have exactly the right tools in place. We’re going to study tonight; watch whoever wins tonight and then we’ll prepare accordingly.

“We didn’t know (Wolsey-Wessington) at all. I think there’s a little anticipation there and some unknowns probably. We didn’t know what to expect, so maybe there was some hesitation there, stuff like that, because we had never seen them other than on video.”

Looking ahead

Thursday will mark the third meeting between the Dolphins and Redhawks this season.

Deubrook was a 27-25, 20-25, 25-14, 25-18 victor on Oct. 11 in Hendricks, Minn.

The Dolphins added a 25-17, 27-25 win on Oct. 13 in Castlewood en route to taking the Dakota Valley Conference Tournament title.