ABERDEEN — The Brookings Bobcats opened the season with a thriller, defeating Aberdeen Central in five sets on Tuesday night.

The Bobcats fell behind early, dropping the first set 23-25 but rebounded to win the second set 25-23. The Golden Eagles put Brookings on the ropes with a 25-19 victory in the third set but Brookings won the fourth set 25-22 and won the fifth set 15-10 to clinch the match.

Rylee Thompson led Brookings with 18 kills while Macy Even also ended in double figures with 15 kills. Tess Burns added seven kills. Arielle Ferrell had six kills and Kymber Buys had three kills.

Kamryn Streich, Even, Thompson and Burns each had two aces for the Bobcats.

Morgan Norgaard led the way defensively with a team-high 28 digs. Even had 19 digs while Buys had 16 digs and Streich had 14 digs. Burns had nine digs, Thompson had six digs and Logan Smidt had five digs.

Buys and Burns each had two blocks while Lydia Walker and Even each had one block.

After winning their first match of the season, the Bobcats will take part in a tournament in Huron with four matches on Saturday. Brookings will face Dell Rapids at 10 a.m., Spearfish at 11 a.m., Mitchell at 2 p.m. and Huron at 4 p.m.