PIERRE -- The Pierre Lady Govs' volleyball team hosted the No.3-team in the state and the Aberdeen Golden Eagles lived up to their ranking Thursday in the state's capital city.
The Golden Eagles (17-2) spoiled the Lady Govs' pink night with a straight-set victory, 25-15, 25-11 and 25-13, to defeat the Lady Govs (3-17).
For the Golden Eagles, the formula was simple -- play aggressive at the net and everything else will fall into place.
"We're big at the net all of the time. When we are playing well, it's because our frontline is playing well. Everything else is simpler when we get that block put up," Aberdeen Central coach Dennis Northrup said.
The Lady Govs kept the Golden Eagles' aggression in check in the early portions of the match with two kills by Kaitlyn Severyn, propelling the Lady Govs to a 4-1 lead. Whitney King also added a pair of kills to help the home squad take an 8-5 advantage in the first set. The successful start for the Lady Govs was short-lived though as Aberdeen Central proved why it's a team to be reckoned with heading into the postseason.
"I think our kids started out by following the game plan and it was working. Aberdeen made some adjustments, but we kind of went away from what worked those first eight points," Lady Govs coach Kacy Kienholz said.
Aberdeen Central stormed back and took control of the set and the match with nine unanswered points. Lauren McCafferty played a big hand in the run while at serve with two aces.
McCafferty had three of the Golden Eagles' seven aces in the match, while the Lady Govs just had two as a team throughout the match.
"Serving is the biggest phase of the game. We had a few missed serves in the first game, but we cleaned that up a bit. I don't think we missed another serve throughout the match," Northrup said.
Sydney Kinsella and Kelsey Schmitz combined for a block to end Aberdeen Central's run, but the Golden Eagles kept a steady lead en route to 25-15 opening-set victory. The order the Golden Eagles established didn't go away as Aberdeen Central continued its aggressiveness at the net to take an 11-5 lead to begin the second set.
The Golden Eagles went on another debilitating run with six consecutive points to boost their lead to 12. Severyn answered the run with a kill but it was too little, too late as the Golden Eagles took the second game 25-11.
"Aberdeen is a team that is aggressive from point one to the end of the match. They are a team that just doesn't make many mistakes; they just go out there and play their game. They are very disciplined," Kienholz said.
Aberdeen Central continued to pour it on in the third set by starting off with a 7-1 advantage. Consecutive aces by Meggie Hanson allowed the Golden Eagles to take an 11-3 lead and the rout was on from there. The Lady Govs showed fight at the end of the set, but the ability to avoid those back-breaking runs is something they must develop, according to the Pierre coach.
"I think it's just a matter of our kids not having the confidence to get out of some of those ruts. That will just come with wins but at this point we haven't found that success. We need to continue to work everyday and do what we can to control our side of the court," Kienholz said.
Severyn led the way for the Lady Govs with eight kills and seven digs. King added eight kills and Rachel Hartmann had 11 digs in the defeat. The Golden Eagles featured a balanced attack with McCafferty and Samantha Knecht each leading the way with seven kills.
The two familiar foes will meet again soon, with higher stakes. The two teams meet again in the first round of the District 3AA tournament on Thursday.
The Lady Govs will look to regroup while the Golden Eagles will look to simply carry on their momentum.
"I think the biggest thing now is just regrouping. I told them that a new season starts Monday and that everyone starts over. We can still get to the state tournament if everyone steps up," Kienholz said.
"We'll work on everything in this week. It will just be another week of practice for us. We are preparing for the next level so we will continue to push hard," Northrup said.
The first-round matchup begins at 7 p.m. in Aberdeen at Golden Eagles Arena.
Serving: Aberdeen Central 7 aces (Lauren McCafferty 3 aces, Kelsey Hannigan 1 ace, Meggie Hanson 2 aces, Caitlin Rasmusson 1 ace); Pierre 2 aces (Stevi Claussen 1 ace, Rachel Hartmann 1 ace).
Hitting: Aberdeen Central 32 kills (McCafferty 7 kills, Samantha Knecht 7 kills, Sara Niederbaumer 6 kills, Amanda Tobin 5 kills); Pierre 16 kills (Kaitlyn Severyn 8 kills, Whitney King 6 kills).
Digs: Aberdeen Central 60 (Meggie Hanson 15, Rasmusson 8, McCafferty 7); Pierre 44 (Rachel Hartmann 11, Severyn 7).
Blocks: Aberdeen Central 1 solo 15 assists (McCafferty 1 solo 2 assists, Rasmusson 4 assists); Pierre 7 assists (Kelsey Schmitz 2 assists, Whitney King 2 assists).