PIERRE – The Aberdeen Central volleyball program let a promising start slip away late, dropping a 5-set battle to Pierre on the road Saturday afternoon. The host Governors rallied after falling in the first two sets of the match, eventually winning by set scores of 12-25, 25-27, 25-18, 25-15 and 15-12.

“There were some things that went really well for us early on,” said Central coach Jackie Bindenagel, “and then a few things that weren’t as efficient as the match went on.”

Central’s hot start was fueled in part by a strong day at the service line. As a team, the Golden Eagles racked up nine aces, led by Madison Miller’s five and Ayrlie Waldo’s two.

“We started out serving and blocking really well,” Bindenagel said. “(Pierre’s) serve-receive locked in and we had a hard time getting them out of system after set three.”

With senior Grace Kuch still sidelined with a knee injury, the Golden Eagles were led offensively by Ashley Wangler and Lauryn Burckhard, each with a dozen kills.

Waldo, in addition to her efforts at the service line, also finished with 40 assists and 16 digs. Wangler added a pair of blocks, while Sawyer Bahr paced the defensive back line with 24 digs.

Central will return home for two of its three remaining contests in the regular season. The Golden Eagles will host Watertown Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Serving: Aberdeen Central 91-98 9 aces (Madison Miller 29-30 5 aces, Ayrlie Waldo 12-14 2 aces).

Hitting: Aberdeen Central 133-152 48 kills (Ashley Wangler 21-23 12 kills, Lauryn Burckhard 28-34 12 kills).

Setting: Aberdeen Central 138-139 43 assists (Waldo 120-120 40 assists).

Digs: Aberdeen Central 86 (Sawyer Bahr 24, Waldo 16, Miller 13).

Blocks: Aberdeen Central 4 solo 6 assists (Taryn Nieman 1 solo 3 assisted, Wangler 2 solo).