WOLSEY – It can be difficult for any team to make a return trip to a state tournament after losing a strong senior class.

However, the Wolsey-Wessington volleyball team is doing just that. After losing six seniors from last season, the Warbirds are returning to the Class B state volleyball tournament following a memorable first appearance last season that ended in a third-place finish.

Wolsey-Wessington coach Lindy Uttecht said last season’s success carried into this season, despite the losses to graduation.

“I think making it to the state tournament last year was a huge thing for our program,” Uttecht said. “It gave them a lot of confidence, it really got them excited, and it really made them work harder during the offseason.”

The loss of six seniors also forced some reshuffling in the starting lineup, and Uttecht and the coaching staff spent all summer working on putting the pieces in place for another run at a state tournament.

“We had to do a little bit of rebuilding. We moved some girls around,” Uttecht said. “We had three returning starters coming back, so they were all playing different positions last year. We kind of moved them around and we had some younger girls step up and fill spots. This summer we went to team camps and we had open gyms and kind of watched the girls, and now we’re going to the state tournament.”

While Uttecht said there were some growing pains, the team gelled faster than expected. The Warbirds have lost just four matches this season. Those losses came against perennial powers Northwestern and Warner early in the season, as well as losing twice to Faulkton. However, Wolsey-Wessington also defeated Faulkton once this season, as well as claiming a pair of wins over Class A state tournament qualifier Miller.

After losing to Warner on Aug. 28 in the third match of the season, the Warbirds proceeded to win 20 consecutive matches before losing to Faulkton at the Battler Tournament in Gettysburg on Oct. 7. They take a 29-4 record into the state tourney.

Uttecht pointed to one big key for the success this season.

“The biggest thing is our defense,” Uttecht said. “We’ve really been working on being big at the net, blocking, getting touches, and trying to cover as many tips as we can. My two middles are also high jumpers in track, so that’s really nice.”

The team has improved in several areas in this season, with serve leading the way.

“I was a little worried about our serve receive this year, but we’ve really done well with serve receive,” Uttecht said. “We don’t have too many shanks in getting that ball up to the setter so she can get our hitters going.”

The Warbirds have three senior starters on this year’s squad, with Lainey Uttecht, Kailynn Dorris, and Payton Kemnitz leading the team. Uttecht played libero last season, while Dorris played middle hitter. Both were moved to outside hitters this season. Kemnitz played in the back row last season and now plays as a setter. Coach Uttecht said each one has had to play a bigger role than they did last season.

“Those three really had to step up and play some different roles and adjust to new spots this year,” Coach Uttecht said.

Wolsey-Wessington will match up with Burke in the opening round of the Class B tournament. The Warbirds and Cougars are no strangers to one another. Both squads met in last year’s state tournament in the third-place match, with the Warbirds winning in four sets.

They also met two years ago in the SoDak 16, with the Cougars claiming a four-set win. Coach Uttecht said Burke will present challenges for the Warbirds.

“They’re a very strong team,” Coach Uttecht said. “They’ve got some talented athletes. I know they’ve got some really good hitters and they’re scrappy. They’re a good defensive team.”

Coach Uttecht knows her team will need to play well in all facets of the game.

“We definitely need to play good defense and make sure our passing gets up to our setter so we can get our hitters going,” she said.

Wolsey-Wessington and Burke will play at 1:45 p.m. (MST) Thursday at the Summit Arena.