Playing with an altered lineup in the wake of injuries suffered during Thursday’s match at Huron, the Aberdeen Central volleyball program went toe-to-toe with fifth-ranked Pierre Saturday afternoon before falling in a sweep to the Governors at Golden Eagles Arena.

Pierre won by set scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 28-26.

Central went into the match without the services of senior libero Sydney Evans, who is in concussion protocol after a collision with Madi Miller on Thursday. Miller did play in Saturday’s match wearing a face shield to protect a broken nose.

“It was a quick turnaround,” coach Jackie Bindenagel acknowledged.

Senior Anna Malchow stepped into the libero slot on Saturday and freshman Emma Dohrer came on as a defensive specialist. Eighth-grader Lauryn Burckhard got the start up front and, despite all the changes, it was the Golden Eagles who forced Pierre into an early timeout to start the match.

“This team competed,” Bindenagel said. “And we competed really well on Thursday, too. Good efforts both nights. We came up a little short (Saturday). We had good opportunities to win, especially in the second and third sets, and we just missed some serves.”

Central found itself in the lead in all three sets, leading 10-5 early in the first before letting Pierre back in front midway through. The Golden Eagles were up 15-8 and were within a point late in the second set, then couldn’t finish off two set points in the third.

“We have to find that happy medium between serving aggressive and serving smart,” Bindenagel said. “We just missed at some bad times. If those serves are in, it might end differently.”

Leah Gough led the way offensively with 11 kills. Ashley Wangler had six and Grace Kuch finished with five. Malchow tallied 22 digs and a pair of service aces, while Ayrlie Waldo finished with 23 assists and six digs for the Golden Eagles.

“All the kids that stepped on the court did their job and did what we needed them to do,” Bindenagel said. “We just came up short.”

Central will head west next weekend to face Spearfish and Sturgis in a pair of non-conference road matches. Bindenagel is hopeful Evans will be out of protocol in time to prepare for those matches.

“The pieces are starting to get in the right places,” Bindenagel said.

Serving: Aberdeen Central 58-66 5 aces (Ayrlie Waldo 21-22 3 aces, Anna Malchow 11-12 2 aces).

Hitting: Aberdeen Central 93-108 28 kills (Leah Gough 23-28 11 kills, Ashley Wangler 13-17 6 kills, Grace Kuch 25-27 5 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Central 88-88 23 assists (Waldo 84-84 23 assists).

Digs: Aberdeen Central 63 (Malchow 22, Emma Dohrer 11, Madison Miller 9).

Blocks: Aberdeen Central 4 solo 4 assisted (Lauryn Buckhard 2 solo 1 assisted).