Oct. 17 -- The Spike is the Mitchell Republic's regular look at high school volleyball in the Mitchell area, highlighting the top teams, players and accomplishments.
PARKSTON, S.D. -- After navigating a jam-packed schedule to start the year, the Parkston High School volleyball team has continued to cruise with the regular-season schedule winding down.
From Aug. 26 through Sept. 23, the Trojans played 21 matches, and at the time had more action in the books than any other program in all of South Dakota high school volleyball.
A strong 17-4 start during that busy stretch lifted the Trojans to the No. 7 spot in the Class B seed-point standings. Now at 22-5 with wins in seven of its last eight matches, including four straight, Parkston stands at No. 8 and remains the top team in Region 4B.
During its spree, Parkston has defeated Ethan (17-9) as well as top-15 Class A programs Winner (19-5) and Wagner (18-5). The Trojans swept the Rustlers and Warriors earlier in the season, and most recently posted a five-set victory over the Red Raiders on Tuesday.
In its win over Ethan on Oct. 6, Keeara Oakley had 18 kills, 11 digs and three total blocks. Berkley Ziebart had a team-high 19 kills, with 10 digs and one service ace. Finley Bogenreif tallied 44 assists and two total blocks, while Addison Koehn posted 10 digs in the road sweep over the Rustlers.
Ultimately, Parkston, under the direction of new head coach Brooklyn Schauer, has its hopes set on a state tournament bid. The Trojans last qualified for a state volleyball tournament in Class A in 2021, and that marks the program's lone trip to the state quarterfinals since 2007.
Parkston has only two matches and the Southeast South Dakota Conference tournament remaining in the regular season. The Trojans put a five-match win streak on the line against Bon Homme next at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Tyndall.
Among the keys to Winner volleyball's success this season, winning seven of its last eight matches, has been the versatility of setter Gracie Root.
Reaching a personal milestone on Oct. 7, the 5-foot-2 senior eclipsed 1,000 digs for her prep career in a home sweep over Gregory.
In back-to-back sweeps over Gregory and Chamberlain, Root posted 52 assists, 25 digs and three service aces, highlighting her as an all-around playmaker for the Warriors. Winner holds a 19-5 record and is receiving votes toward the South Dakota Prep Media poll in Class A.
Winner has two regular-season matches and the Southeast South Dakota Conference tournament remaining, with Wagner next at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Wagner.
* Ranked at No. 4 in the South Dakota Prep Media poll for Class B, Burke (24-2) rattled off three-straight wins since its tight three-set loss to Gayville-Volin (24-4) on Oct. 4, who is receiving votes as a top-five team in the Class B standings. In the Cougars' four-set victory over Gregory on Thursday, Emmie Hausmann led the team in kills with 17 and posted nine digs. Breckynn Pistulka tallied 14 assists, 12 digs and three service aces. Brianna Davis collected 12 kills, seven digs and eight service aces, as Emmy Spencer added 14 assists and six kills.
* Wagner improved to 18-5 after a sweep over Andes Central/Dakota Christian on Thursday. The Red Raiders have won seven of its last eight matches, with the lone loss at the hands of Parkston on Tuesday in five sets. In those two contests against AC/DC and Parkston, Hannah Holzbauer combined for 25 kills and 24 digs. Braxton Nedved tallied 65 assists, four total blocks and four service aces. Ravyn Medricky collected 24 kills, five digs, four blocks and one ace. Libby Kotab posted 31 digs and three service aces.
* Ranked No. 5 in Class B, Bridgewater-Emery had its 18-match winning streak snapped this week in back-to-back losses to Colman-Egan (16-3) on Tuesday and Gayville-Volin (24-4) on Thursday. Both of those teams are receiving votes in the Class B standings. In the loss against Colman-Egan, Oakley Weber had nine assists, nine digs, eight kills and one service ace. Lily Hilton tallied 13 assists and Maizey Strombeck posted 13 digs. Macie Weber and Aleigha Kroger each collected nine digs, as Reese Meyer had seven kills. Summer Koch finished with four kills and three blocks.
* Corsica-Stickney jumped back into the win column in an impressive five-set victory over Winner on Thursday. The Jaguars were on a three-match losing skid, but improved to 16-11 after the win against the Warriors. Sophie DeLange led the team in kills with 19 and had two total blocks. Cali Vanden Hoek tallied 32 digs, while Hadynn Johnson added 21 digs and two service aces. Braylee Bordewyk had 17 kills, a team-high 17 assists and three service aces. Remi Nelson posted 15 assists and two service aces, as Faith Plamp tacked on seven kills.