WARNER – While Warner is making its eighth consecutive appearance in the State B Volleyball Tournament, the experience will be something new for a lot of the Monarchs this week.

That’s because many of the players who competed in last year’s state championship match for Warner have graduated.

So, while the Monarchs would love to earn another shot at a state title this season, the new-look team has already proved a point in getting back to the state tourney.

With an almost fresh squad this year for the Monarchs, their trip back to the state tournament is more of an opportunity than a revenge tour from that title match setback.

“We have a whole new look of kids, so I don’t think they’ve really thought about that much. We have a few kids that were on the court, but a majority of our players this season didn’t play on the varsity court last year in that match,” said Warner coach Kari Jung. “So I don’t think they’re really looking at it as revenge, although they would love to have the opportunity to play against Chester again. They’re just going to go and enjoy the experience because for a lot of them, it’s their first time.”

With a new squad, it is important to have experienced players on the court, and Warner has that with three girls from last year’s team playing a major role in both seasons.

“We do have a senior and a junior that did play, and then one DS that’s a senior that also played. So three kids, and just their experience being in those big matches, I think has helped them be really good leaders for the younger kids,” Jung said. “That experience of being there before helps them lead and keep the younger ones calm. Especially Kyleigh (Schopp) and MaKenna (Leidholt). Both of them played front row last year, so they’re really calm about trying to help the younger kids stay calm, because one of them is always in the front row.”

The blend of younger players with experienced veterans has helped Warner throughout the season, resulting in 11 consecutive sweeps heading into the state tourney, including a win over Faulkton in last week’s SoDak 16. The Monarchs appear to be peaking at the right time of the year.

“Our girls are super excited, and they are working hard to try to play our best volleyball at this time of the season,” Jung said.

During the current winning streak, the Monarchs have recorded some impressive wins, including victories over the likes of third-seeded Hitchcock-Tulare, 25-win Mobridge-Pollock, and 22-win Wolsey-Wessington. Warner is also the only team in the state to defeat top-seeded Class A Miller.

Warner’s difficult schedule also led to a few setbacks along the way. Their four losses come from two Class A state qualifiers, Dakota Valley and Sioux Falls Christian, fifth-seeded Burke in Class B, and Gretna East, the 18th best team in Nebraska according to Maxpreps.com. Three of those losses came at the Sanford Pentagon Tournament during one day. Those four teams have a combined 106 match victories.

“Playing against those tough teams makes you stronger when you’re in tough matches because they can rely on some things they’ve had to do against some really solid teams,” Jung said.

“Maybe we’re struggling a little bit getting behind, and then they have the confidence to stay in the match and then continue to play well to try to come back.”

Going into the state tournament, the Monarchs will look to continue to rely on their defense to keep running late into Saturday.

“We feel like one of our strengths is our defense. With Jordyn Jensen and Haleigh Holt in the back row, they are really quick. … They just love their role, and our blockers have been doing so well at the net, so defensively, we feel like that’s one of our strengths,” Jung said. “Even if we’re not hitting well, we rely a lot on our defense to keep us in matches.”

The Monarchs will face off against a senior heavy Colman-Egan squad which went 24-5 on the year at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Sanford Premier Center. The Hawks are no strangers to the state tournament, either.

Colman-Egan, which finished fifth last season, is making its fifth straight state tourney appearance.

“They have nine seniors on their roster, so they’re going to want to win as much as we do. So, we know we’re going to have to prepare. They have some good, strong hitting, and they’re fairly tall, so we know they got some good, strong hitting and some good blockers,” Jung said. “We will have to D it up, and pass and serve I think is a key for us. If we pass and serve well, we tend to get our offense going, which helps a ton.”