VOLGA — Kaedyn Sapp was in the middle of the Sioux Valley volleyball team’s return to the state tournament this fall. 

With 367 kills and 54 aces, Sapp was an offensive force. With 392 digs and 34 blocks, she was an all-around player that earned multiple All-Conference honors as well as a second-team All-State selection during her senior season.

But it’s not just the on-court accolades that helped Sapp — it was her compassion and leadership off of the court that helped her become the 2024 Brookings Register Volleyball Player of the Year.

Sapp’s standout career began when she was young. Her mother, Rochelle, was an assistant coach for the volleyball team at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, and Kaedyn immediately fell in love with the team aspect and the competitiveness of the sport.

“The concept of volleyball has always been super fun to me,” Sapp recalled. “I’m really goal-driven and having something to play for is always what kept me going. It was the competitive aspect of [volleyball] that kept me in it.”

Soon after, Sapp moved to the Volga area and met Sioux Valley coach Jill Vincent. Vincent had known about her family for a while but really got to know Kaedyn when she was in fourth grade and started playing at the youth levels.

“She’s just a sweetheart,” Vincent said. “She’s everyone’s friend, always very compassionate, has empathy for other people and she was always willing to go the extra mile. She would invite the team over to her place so that we could have pizza and different things like that. She’s just a very caring person.”

But while her personality stood out, so did her commitment to honing her game. Kaedyn would play volleyball in the summer and watch matches on television. While she grew physically to hover around six feet, she also grew mentally and as a leader for her teammates as she made her varsity debut in eighth grade.

“You knew that she was going to show up every day and give 100 percent to bring out the best in her teammates,” Vincent said. “She’s one of the most coachable players that I’ve ever had and she’s willing to work on the game outside of the volleyball season.”

Sapp’s relentlessness helped her reach the 1,000 career kills as a junior but the Cossacks went 14-16 and lost in the regional quarterfinals to Estelline/Hendricks.

With her senior year approaching, Sapp and the Cossacks made the goal of making the State Tournament. Sioux Valley had a tremendous start, winning 16 of their first 17 matches but faced adversity when they lost teammate Raegan Nelson, who was killed in a car accident on the way to school last October.

“For a couple of weeks, we had practices that weren’t productive. It was just hard,” Sapp recalled. “We came to practice and there were multiple days where we would all just cry.”

But while Sapp’s leadership on the court was key at the beginning of the season, it was Sapp’s compassion that would help the Cossacks get to the finish line.
Sapp was among a group of teammates who visited Nelson and her family in the hospital and would come back with stories that helped pick everyone up with stories about Raegan.

“When we would talk as a group, Kaedyn and those players could talk about seeing her and talk about all of the positive things they could take away from that,” Vincent said. “With Kaedyn’s compassionate nature, she was able to talk to the other players and console them.”

Sapp was able to find her own consolation by leaning on her teammates, stopping and smiling as they told stories about Nelson in practice.

“It was honestly really comforting to know that we were all there for each other,” Sapp said. “I think that’s what bonded our team. We could still be a team and be together and support each other through a time of tragedy.”

The Cossacks began their playoff run with a sweep over Florence/Henry and advanced to the SoDak 16 by upsetting Great Plains Lutheran in the Region 2A semifinals. Sioux Valley had one match away the State Tournament when they fell down to Hill City two sets to one, but ith their goal on the line, Sapp stepped up, posting 13 kills and 22 digs to win the fourth set 25-21 and the fifth set 15-7 to help Sioux Valley advance to the Class A Tournament for the first time since 2017.

“It meant so much to me and my team,” Sapp said. “This year, we have gone through a lot with losing a teammate and we had a lot of other different highs and lows throughout the year. It was definitely a special year to make the State Tournament.”

The Cossacks finished the season with a 25-8 record and advanced to the consolation championship match, finishing in sixth place. Sapp would make the All-Tournament team and put a fitting end to a career that also saw her record 1,000 career digs but it was her leadership that truly stood out.

“I think she really led by example,” Vincent said. “When we would get down by a couple of points, she would always give her teammates encouragement and always had something positive to say to them. She always played with a calm demeanor and I think that rubbed off on the rest of them.”

Sapp also credited Vincent for her growth as a player and a person while playing five years of varsity volleyball.

“She means a lot to me,” Sapp said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together, so it’s super special to me when I can have such a good relationship with my coach.”

Sapp is planning to play volleyball at Dakota State next season but believes this season will stand out when she looks back at her high school career. While the Player of the Year Award is an achievement so is reaching the State Tournament as a team, which makes the award much sweeter.

“It’s honestly a really big honor because I know there’s so many good players in this area,” Sapp said. “It’s really satisfying knowing that I could be a part of a State Tournament team and lead our team to that goal. It was a lot of fun this year.”