Northern State and South Dakota State recruits played prominent roles in the South Dakota All-Star volleyball game in Aberdeen.
The South rolled to a three-set sweep of the North: 25-19, 25-12 and 25-15. The 27th annual games, for standout high school senior athletes from across the state who graduated in May, came to end Wednesday.
NSU volleyball recruit Lexi Bordeaux of Sioux Falls Washington, SDSU volleyball recruit Mikala Hora of Yankton and NSU track and field recruit Autumn Schulz of Wall all were leaders for the winning South team.
"It felt amazing to win and to play with such a great group of players," Bordeaux said. "We really talked a lot to each other on the court, and that really helped us. We all got along so well all week. For a group that has never played together before, we really bonded."
Bordeaux served the South to 11 straight points in the second set and had two important kills to help close out the match near the end of the third set. She also had nine digs and two aces.
"I am very excited to be playing here (at Wachs Arena) in college," Bordeaux said. "The community and campus is a nice size, and the coach is great. Plus, I really liked and felt comfortable with the players on the Northern State team."
Bordeaux also thought her South coaches were great, head coach LaDawn Nesje, who was her coach at Washington, and South assistant Darci Wassenaar of Sioux Falls Christian. Nesje played volleyball and softball at Northern State.
"I have only had one other girl (Jill Rasmussen) from Washington go to Northern to play volleyball," Nesje said. "It is neat to have another Warrior become a Wolf. I am excited for Lexi and her future."
Also leaving their mark on the match were North leaders Tiara Gibson of Deuel and Lauren McCafferty of Aberdeen Central. Gibson will be a volleyball teammate with Hora at SDSU and McCafferty with Bordeaux at NSU. Another North player, who did not play because of injury, was Class B player of the year and NSU volleyball recruit Rachel Rogers of Warner.
Even though the North got down by some big margins, the team rallied at the end of each of the three sets. "We were a little slow at first, but the girls never gave up and I am so proud of them," said North coach Jamie Cronin of Gettysburg, who was assisted by former Northwestern standout Jodi Melius of Brookings.
Cronin said it was an honor to coach such a talented group. "It was a great opportunity to coach this level of talent," she said. "It was fun to be around such a nice group as this was all week. These are girls who you know will go on to great things in the classroom and on the court in college."
The heroes for the South were many. In the first set, Hora displayed her tremendous jumping skills. In that set, Hora had five of her six kills while South teammate Schulz had six of her eight kills.
The Class AA player of the year, Ashley Beaner of Sioux Falls Roosevelt, led the South in the second set with her assists, kills and digs. In the third set, the South got great play from the serving of Megan Farnham of Mitchell and Kiara VanderPol of Sioux Falls Christian, and the hitting and blocking of Allie Vognild of Sioux Falls O'Gorman.
"When you get to an all-star event like this, you know you are getting a great team," Nesje said. "They worked so hard every day in practice. We knew we had a lot of big hitters and we had a lot of confidence in all of our girls. A lot of kids did a lot of nice things tonight. And as a coach, you could plug any of the players in any type of position or situation."
The North got consistent hitting throughout from Gibson and McCafferty, who also had 13 digs. Also, the North put together a couple of nice runs when Ashley Clemens of Northwestern was at the service line.
North Team: Sydney Tschetter (Wolsey-Wessington); Krista Wells (Philip); Abby Dockter (Aberdeen Roncalli); Ashley Clemens (Northwestern); Tiara Gibson (Deuel); Kaylee Vander Wal (Sioux Valley); Hayley Hillestad (Sioux Valley); Lauren McCafferty (Aberdeen Central); Rachel Rogers (Warner); Katelyn Allerdings (Huron); Mackenzie Rief (Brookings); Emily Pengilly (Watertown).
South Team: Megan Farnham (Mitchell); Tessa Weeldreyer (Parker); Autumn Schulz (Wall); Hayley McCarron (Sioux Falls Christian); Brooke Van Gorp (Sioux Falls Christian); Kiara VanderPol (Sioux Falls Christian); Mikala Hora (Yankton); Lexi Bordeaux (Sioux Falls Washington); Katelyn Sim (Sioux Falls Lincoln); Jessa Doom (Wagner); Allie Vognild (Sioux Falls O'Gorman); Ashley Beaner (Sioux Falls Roosevelt).
Serving: South 6 aces (Bordeaux 2, Farnham 2); North 2 aces (Gibson 1, McCafferty 1).
Hitting: South 34 kills (Schulz 8, Hora 6, Vognild 6); North 25 kills (Gibson 9, McCafferty 8).
Setting: South 26 assists (Doom 12, McCarron 8); North 21 assists (Vander Wal 10, Pengilly 7).
Digs: South 66 (Beaner 13, Bordeaux 9, Van Gorp 9); North 54 (McCafferty 13, Vander Wal 11).
Blocks: South 8 (Vognild 3, McCarron 2, Doom 2); North 1 (Hillestad 1).
Officials: Mike Perrion (Milbank), Lynne Calmus (Howard); Brian Sieh (Madison); Marcy Van Zee (Mitchell).