SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Spearfish Spartans Volleyball Team came out swinging Tuesday night, but an early advantage wasn’t enough to hold off one of Class A’s top-ranked teams.
Despite jumping out to a commanding lead in the opening set, Spearfish fell to the St. Thomas More Cavaliers in straight sets, 25-22, 25-11 and 25-16, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Spearfish High School.
The loss dropped the Spartans to 8-11 on the season, while the Cavaliers improved to 20-3.
Spartans Start Strong, Cavaliers Answer
Spearfish couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the opening set.
The Spartans raced out to a 5-0 advantage, establishing momentum early in front of their home crowd. Despite a brief response from the Cavaliers, Spearfish continued to control the opening stages, eventually building a 10-3 lead.
St. Thomas More answered with three consecutive points, but Spearfish maintained its advantage and pushed the score to 14-8.
That’s when the momentum shifted.
The Cavaliers rattled off six unanswered points to erase the deficit and tie the opening set at 14. Both teams traded points as Spearfish attempted to regain control, but St. Thomas More eventually pulled ahead 22-18.
The Spartans continued to battle, closing the gap before the Cavaliers secured a 25-22 victory in the opening set.
Spearfish recorded 10 kills in the first set, its highest total of the match.
Cavaliers Take Control in Second Set
St. Thomas More carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 5-1 advantage.
The Cavaliers continued to apply pressure, extending their lead to 13-4 and forcing Spearfish to play from behind.
Although the Spartans battled to find their rhythm, the Cavaliers maintained control throughout the set and cruised to a 25-11 victory, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Spearfish struggled offensively in the second set, recording just three kills on 26 attack attempts.
Spearfish Battles in Final Set
Facing a two-set deficit, the Spartans needed a strong response to extend the match.
Instead, St. Thomas More jumped out to another early advantage, building a 10-2 lead in the third set.
Spearfish refused to go quietly, battling to find offensive opportunities and recording six kills in the final frame.
However, the early deficit proved too much to overcome as the Cavaliers closed out the third set 25-16, completing the three-set sweep and improving to 20-3 on the season.
Billington Leads Spearfish Offensively
Julia Billington led the Spartans with six kills, two service aces, five digs and three solo blocks, finishing with a team-high 11 points.
Addie Keller, Finley Bouman and Layla Meredith each contributed four kills. Bouman also recorded six digs, while Meredith added four digs and two block assists.
Piper Jacobs led Spearfish with seven assists and three service aces while contributing seven digs. Megan Markovetz added six assists and one service ace.
Defensively, Jacobs led the Spartans with seven digs, followed by Bouman with six and Billington with five.
Spearfish finished the match with 19 kills, 19 assists, seven service aces, 37 digs and six total team blocks.
Spartans Head to Mitchell for Saturday Matchups
With the loss, Spearfish falls to 8-11 and will look to rebound Saturday when the Spartans travel east for two matches in Mitchell.
Spearfish is scheduled to face the Mitchell Kernels and Tea Area Titans as the Spartans continue their regular-season schedule.
After Tuesday’s matchup against one of Class A’s top-ranked programs, Spearfish will have another opportunity to build momentum heading into the remainder of the season.
Match Statistics
Final: St. Thomas More def. Spearfish, 3-0
Set | Spearfish | St. Thomas More |
|---|---|---|
First | 22 | 25 |
Second | 11 | 25 |
Third | 16 | 25 |
Spearfish statistical leaders
Category | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
Kills | Julia Billington | 6 |
Assists | Piper Jacobs | 7 |
Service aces | Piper Jacobs | 3 |
Digs | Piper Jacobs | 7 |
Solo blocks | Julia Billington | 3 |
Total points | Julia Billington | 11 |