VOLGA — Sioux Valley volleyball remained unbeaten on Saturday afternoon as the Cossacks swept Castlewood at the Cossack Center.

Sioux Valley (5-0) won a marathon first set 31-29 and then took care of business in the second set with a 25-16 victory. The Cossacks then came from behind in set three and won 27-25 to get the three-set sweep.

Sioux Valley head coach Jill Vincent said this was a big win for the Cossacks as they have not had a lot of success against Castlewood lately.

“It’s huge. Castlewood is a really good volleyball team. They’re really well coached and every year they bring it to us. I think this might be the first time that this group of girls has defeated them. [The players were able to stay focused] and that’s a win in our book," Vincent said.

The two teams went back and forth at the beginning of the first set as Sioux Valley led 8-7. The Cossacks then led 16-13 but the Warriors rallied to tie things up at 17-17. Sioux Valley had set point at 24-22 but Castlewood then scored three-straight points to get a set point of their own. The Warriors then led 29-28 but the Cossacks scored three-straight points of their own to take a 1-0 lead.

Vincent said it was important to win that first set because it gave the Cossacks a lot of momentum going into the second set. She said her team was able to win because of the upperclassmen.

“I feel like our seniors and juniors are so poised and believe that they can win any point. A lot of those close games were just playing very business-like and it’s nice to see,” Vincent said.

It was 9-9 in the second set when the Cossacks took control. They went on a 8-1 run to go up 17-11 and didn’t look back as Sioux Valley took a 2-0 lead.

Castlewood seemed to be in control in the third set as the Warriors led 16-12. Sioux Valley then scored five of the next six points to tie things up at 17-17. The Cossacks then fell behind 20-18 but scored three straight to gain the lead. Castlewood then had a set point at 24-23 but Sioux Valley rallied and was able to come away with a 27-25 victory and a sweep.

Last season the Cossacks struggled both late in sets and after they won one or two sets. So far this season they’ve won a lot of close sets and Vincent credits that to having 14 juniors and seniors.

“I think growing up [these players] have always felt like they were the younger players on the team and now they finally get their chance to be leaders, and it’s really showing. They can play together, they can tell each other what they’re doing right and wrong and let it roll,” Vincent said.

Sioux Valley had 44 kills as a team and the Cossacks attack percentage was .305. They had 39 assists as a team and 54 digs.

“Since the beginning of the season we’ve been passing a lot better. So we’re getting our setter the ball in a better position and our setters have been doing a good job of mixing it up so everyone is swinging and keeping the blockers on the other side of the net guessing, which gives us more opportunities to get kills,” Vincent said.

Kadeyn Sapp and Adison Renkly each had 13 kills to lead the Cossacks. Sapp had 10 digs and Renkly had eight. Caitlin Russell had 18 digs. Machaela Gerasch had 26 assists and Sunny Hesby had 22. Emma Gorvin had seven kills and seven digs. Lacey Langland had four kills.

The Cossacks will play at home again on Tuesday as they welcome McCook Central/Montrose to Volga. First set is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

“We have to keep our confidence up and stay focused and keep believing in each other,” Vincent said.