RAPID CITY – Wolsey-Wessington got back on track on Friday.

The Warbirds earned a hard fought 27-29, 25-12, 25-20, 25-21 win over Gayville-Volin in the consolation semifinal round of the Class B State Volleyball Tournament at The Monument.

Wolsey-Wessington coach Lindy Uttecht was glad to see her team bounce back with the win after losing its opening-round match.

“The girls came out, they played hard,” Uttecht said. “The biggest thing is they didn’t crumble; they didn’t fall apart. They just pulled it together. Very proud of them.”

Gayville-Volin began set one with a 4-1 lead before Wolsey-Wessington came back to tie the set at 6-6. From there, both teams traded points before the Raiders built a small lead. However, the Warbirds once again made a comeback effort, but fell in extra points.

Wolsey-Wessington senior setter Payton Kemnitz said the team took time to settle in to the contest.

“I really thought we would come out swinging. I thought we would play a lot better,” Kemnitz said. “I think we just needed a little bit of a warmup and we needed to get in the game, and I think that’s just all it took.”

Uttecht said the team’s passing, which struggled during the opening set, is something the coaching staff has stressed all season.

“The biggest thing we’ve told this team all year is our offense starts with our passing,” Uttecht said. “We’ve got to have good passing to give our setters a chance to get our hitters going, and once they settled down, we started passing better, things just started to flow a little bit better.”

The second set was in favor of the Warbirds, who built an early lead and held it for the entire set, finishing on a 10-4 run to tie the match at one set apiece. Set three had a similar feel to set one, only this time it was Wolsey-Wessington that had the early advantage. The Warbirds rushed out to a 6-1 lead, before the Raiders made a comeback, tying the score at 11. With the set tied at 15-15, the Warbirds made their move, doubling up the Raiders on a 10-5 run to take set three.

Wolsey-Wessington senior outside hitter Lainey Uttecht said the early leads helped spark the pair of wins.

“I think in those we just got up big on them,” Uttecht said. “Kailynn Dorris, our starting outside up there, she really had a great day in those two. I mean, she was on fire today.”

Gayville-Volin opened set four with a 9-3 lead, but once again Wolsey-Wessington fought back to take an 11-10 lead. The Warbirds eventually stretched their lead to 19-13, but the Raiders would not go away quietly, climbing back to within 24-21. But Lainey Uttecht ended the Gayville-Volin by providing the match point.

“It just came down to we wanted to kill the ball, kill the ball, and it just wasn’t going our way,” Uttecht said. “In that last moment, that last point, I thought you know, I’m just going to hit the spot and get out of here. Got the tip on that one.”

Uttecht led the Warbirds with 40 digs, while also adding nine kills. Kemnitz had 22 assists and 20 digs. Kailynn Dorris led the team with 24 kills, while Samara Clemente had 10, and Tatum Luce added nine. Kendal Uttecht topped the team with 27 assists.

Kemnitz said it is fun to be competing in the state tournament.

“We were here last year and of course we lost a lot of horsepower, a lot of seniors last year, and we had so much fun last year that we knew we wanted to come back,” Kemnitz said. “We put in the time and the effort in the offseason. Of course, it’s a great atmosphere. I mean, state volleyball, it’s so much fun.”

Gayville-Volin will take on Faulkton in the seventh-place match at 11 this morning, while Wolsey-Wessington will play Colman-Egan for fifth place at 12:45 this afternoon.

Coach Uttecht said the Hawks will provide a challenge for the Warbirds.

“We have not played Colman-Egan this year,” Coach Uttecht said. “I think no matter what it’s going to be a very intense match. It’s going to be a very close match with (Colman-Egan). We’re happy to be playing for fifth and sixth. We came in as the fifth seed and we wanted to at least go home in fifth place.”

Serving: Gayville-Volin 3 aces (Maia Achen 2, Ayla Dimmer 1); Wolsey-Wessington 3 aces (Kendal Uttecht 1, Kailynn Dorris 1, Shae Uttecht 1).

Hitting: Gayville-Volin 42 kills (Achen 24, Aliza Westrum 7, Paisley Dimmer 6); Wolsey- Wessington 56 kills (Dorris 24, Clemente 10, Luce 9, Lainey Uttecht 9).

Setting: Gayville-Volin 40 assists (Keeley Larson 34); Wolsey-Wessington 55 assists (Kendal Uttecht 27, Payton Kemnitz 22).

Digs: Gayville-Volin 117 digs (Jolie Westrum 25, Larson 21, Ayla Dimmer 19, Achen 19, Taylor Hoxeng 19); Wolsey-Wessington 122 digs (Lainey Uttecht 40, Kemnitz 20, Shae Uttecht 18, Roxy Glanzer 14, Dorris 13, Kendal Uttecht 11).

Blocks: Gayville-Volin 2 solo 10 assists (Kayden Bye 1 solo 3 assists, Achen 1 solo 2 assists, Paisley Dimmer 3 assists); Wolsey Wessington 3 solo 14 assists (Clemente 2 solo 4 assists, Luce 1 solo 2 assists, Kendal Uttecht 4 assists, Dorris 3 assists).

Records: Gayville-Volin 21-13; Wolsey-Wessington 30-5.