SIOUX FALLS – Thursday’s disappointment turned into Saturday’s celebration for the Miller Rustlers.

After fallling in the opening round of the Class A State Volleyball Tournament, Miller was determined to leave its mark on the tourney. The Rustlers accomplished that with back-to-back wins, including a 25-16, 33-31, 25-12 victory over Sioux Valley for fifth place at the Sanford Premier Center.

“I’m so proud of the way they bounced back after Thursday’s performance. We came out and had two really, really strong matches,” said Miller coach Linda DeBoer. “I thought we played well and we executed all of the things that we wanted to, and we used the things that got us here, so that was good to see.”

It was evident early in the match that the Rustlers were on a mission to finish the season on a high note. They came out aggressive and dictated play throughout the opening set.

Kate Lichty had the team’s first three kills of the match to get things going.

“I went out and just wanted to be aggressive and wanted to play for our team,” Lichty said

While the Rustlers corralled the first set, the second set was a complete tug-of-war. Miller was able to fight off seven set points, including three in a row at one stage, before eventually securing the set.

“It was pretty awesome,” Lichty said of the marathon set. “The adrenaline was pretty high. We just used each other to get through it.”

The Rustlers do drills in practice to help them prepare for scenarios like that.

“We just kept battling through it,” said Miller’s Paige Werdel. “I think in practice we have a lot of those scenarios where we lose a point and we have to gain it right back, so I think we just pulled through together and kept going for the next point, point by point.”

Once the Rustlers owned a two-set lead, they took control in the third to close out the sweep.

Werdel served the final six points to put an exclamation point on the victory.

“I just kept a steady head, kept staring just straight at the court,” Werdel said, “kept thinking get it over, just get it in.”

When asked if she had a serving strategy, Werdel said yes, but was not willing to divulge more information.

“Coach DeBoer’s secret, I guess,” Werdel said.

Werdel led the Rustlers with 13 kills, Aleah Schlechter followed with 10, and Lichty finished with eight.

That balanced was typical of the season for Miller, which has a variety of players who can led the team in hitting in any given match.

“It’s pretty awesome, because I feel like for opponents they just don’t know when or where the ball is going to be,” Lichty said. “I feel for other teams, we can scout who’s the best hitter and where we need to be, and where we need to be for the defense.”

Miller finished off the season with a 30-2 record and a big bounce back in the state tournament.

“Our kids have had a good tournament,” DeBoer said. “I thought they never backed down. They kept fighting and competing, and I’m so proud of them.”

Playing with a little extra motivation in their final match of the season didn’t hurt the Rustlers’ cause, either.

“We were just thinking through the whole game this was ours,” Werdel said, “and we really wanted to go out on a win.”

It proved to be a fitting finish for a team that was rated among the state’s elite teams the entire season.

“Third place last year with half this team,” DeBoer said, “and now fifth place with this new team, and to send the seniors out with a win is just an awesome feeling.”

Serving: Sioux Valley 1 ace (Kaedyn Sapp 1); Miller 13 aces (Gracen Werdel 3, Aleah Schlechter 3, Paige Werdel 2, Jolie Palmer 2, Olivia Resel 2).

Hitting: Sioux Valley 23 kills (Sapp 8, Adison Renkly 8); Miller 45 (P. Werdel 13, Schlechter 10, Kate Lichty 8, Kaihlyn Anderberg 6).

Setting: Sioux Valley 21 assists (Sunny Hesby 12, Machaela Gerasch 9); Miller 44 assists (Resel 44).

Digs: Sioux Valley 65 (Sapp 23, Gerasch 9); Miller 60 (Palmer 20, Lichty 10).

Blocks: Sioux Valley 1 solo 13 assists (Renkly 1 solo 5 assists, Emma Gorvin 5 assists); Miller 1 solo 6 assists (Lichty 1 solo 1 assist, G. Werdel 2 assists, Schlechter 2 assists).

Records: Sioux Valley 25-8; Miller 30-2.