VOLGA — Sioux Valley improved to 17-2 on Tuesday night as the Cossacks swept the Arlington Cardinals.

The play on the court took a back seat, though, as the two communities and schools supported a pair of sisters from each school. On the morning of Sept. 27 Raegan and Aubree Nelson were involved in a car accident just outside of Arlington. Raegan, who went to school at Sioux Valley, passed away on Oct. 1 and Aubree, who goes to Arlington, is still in the hospital.

White shirts with the saying “supporting sisters” were sold and the proceeds went to the the Nelson family. Sioux Valley head coach Jill Vincent said it was emotional before the the game, but she thought her team did a good job of playing once the match started.

“It was another dedication night, so it gets a little emotional at the beginning, but once we settled in I was really pleased with our progress. … Our communities came together to help raise money for their medical expenses. It’s just a bad deal,” Vincent said.

It was a tight first set that went back-and-forth. Sioux Valley trailed 11-8 but the Cossacks scored three straight to tie things up. The Cossacks then took a 17-14 lead but the Cardinals (9-15) scored four straight to take the lead. Arlington then held a 24-23 advantage but the Cossacks scored three straight points after taking a timeout to take the first set.

Sioux Valley started to find its rhythm in the second set. The Cossacks led 9-8 and went on a 6-0 run to go up 15-8. Sioux Valley stretched the lead to 19-10 and eventually won the second set 25-15.

The score was then 6-6 in the third set and Sioux Valley rattled off five points in-a-row. Arlington cut the lead to 18-15 but Sioux Valley then went on a 7-2 run to close the set and complete the sweep.

Sioux Valley had two solo blocks and had 20 block assists. Arlington’s hitting percentage was just .028 and Vincent said defense at the net is something her team has been working on.

“We’ve been working on getting our blocks closed and holding our place and playing defense around it. That’s something that comes with time throughout the season, so we need to keep developing that, but tonight I thought it was a good step towards that,” Vincent said.

Kaedyn Sapp led the Cossacks with 13 kills and 13 digs. Adison Renkly had seven kills, two solo blocks and eight block assists. Lacey Langland had nine kills and six block assists.

Keyra Kruse had six kills and Emma Gorvin had three kills, seven digs and four block assists. Sunny Hesby had 17 assists and Machaela Gerasch had 18 assists. Caitlin Russell had 11 digs and Elise Lemme had five digs.

Langland, Gorvin, Gerasch, Russell and Lemme are part of the junior class that has complimented the seniors in Sapp, Renkly, Hesby and Kruse. Vincent said the two classes do different things well and it’s resulted in a lot of wins for Sioux Valley in 2024.

“When they were little I always said, my hitters are in that grade and my passers are in the other grade,” Vincent said. “So, that’s kind of what we have going on right here. My seniors are really at the net, they’re also good passers, but my juniors are really, really good passers. We just have to decide who’s passing the best on that night and put people in good positions where they have positive experiences.

“Tonight, we got Elise [Lemme] and Talya [Vincent] back from injuries. They did a great job of passing back there. Kaedyn [Sapp] played good defensively at left back when she needed to. Adison [Renkly] had a great night at the net and was just able to relax and play right there.”

Arlington was led by Jaelyn Huntimer who had eight kills and nine digs. Halley Miller had five kills and four digs. Sony Johnson had 12 assists and five digs. Madi Bacon had 15 digs and Jordan Spilde had five digs.

Arlington hosts Deubrook Area on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Sioux Valley will enter its toughest stretch of the season on Thursday when the Cossacks welcome No. 5 ranked Baltic to the Cossack Center. The Bulldogs swept Sioux Valley in the Big East Tournament on Sept 12. Sioux Valley will then take on Chester, the No. 1 ranked team in Class B, on the road on Oct. 22.

Vincent said she thinks her team is ready for the two challenging matches that sit in front of them.

“We’ve had a lot of wins this season and haven’t dealt with a lot of losses. ... We’re ready to play Chester and ready to play Baltic. Everyone that we play from here on out is going to be tough, so we have to really pull it together. You want to beef up your schedule at the end of the year and that’s where we want to be playing at the end of the year,” Vincent said.