Rangers battle Wildcats in last home match

Hill City volleyball hosted its neighbors to the south, the Custer Wildcats, for the last home match of the season Tuesday, Oct. 20, celebrating seven graduating seniors with Parents Night before the matchup. 

The Rangers used their depth throughout the match, drawing on the diverse strengths of players across the roster to challenge the Wildcats. 

“Sometimes you need a strong, aggressive blocker on the right side, sometimes you need a fast, clever hitter on the outside. Sometimes you need a setter that’s better at either defense or offense, sometimes you need someone that can just serve lights out every time. It all depends on your opponent, and we are lucky that we have a whole roster of players that each bring a different skillset when we need it,” said Hill City head coach Allie Henderson.

The Rangers came out swinging, maintaining high energy throughout the opening set, narrowly edging out Custer 25-23. 

“Our energy in the first set really put up some immediate mental blocks for Custer,” said Henderson. “They adjusted in the second set, and we did not.”

The Wildcats answered back in the second set by taking control of the momentum and built an early lead. Custer made quick work of the set, rolling over the Rangers by 15 points (25-10).

“We never really got the momentum back after that first set,” said Henderson. “Custer stopped making mistakes, and we had too many unforced errors, and that trend continued the rest of the match.”

Hill City battled back in the next two sets, keeping the game within reach but ultimately came up short 25-20 in the third and 25-23 in the fourth and final set. 

Senior Grace Kenzy recorded three aces, while Cora Stoebner, Carlie Hobbick and Genevieve Scherer each added one from behind the service line. 

Hobbick led the Rangers offense, knocking down 16 kills while recording 11 assists. Zulema Lupercio also kept the offense rolling with 10 assists, and Dean added six of her own.

Other big hitters included Stoebner, Ashley Ronning and Lindi Larsen, who contributed six kills each, while Isabella Johnson added five.

Defensively, libero Katelyn Dean, along with Hobbick, each had 21 digs for the night, while Stoebner added another 20. 

Hill City traveled to Belle Fourche to take on the Broncs Tuesday, Oct. 27. 

“Playing Belle at the end of the season has always been bittersweet,” said Henderson. “In the past few years there have been seasons where Hill City and Belle are competing for the No. 1 spot in the region—competing for that second region game or even SoDak 16 game. This year we both find ourselves at the bottom of the region, competing to just get one more win on the record. 

“Of course, a win always feels good, but I just really want all our teams to enjoy their last game of the season. I want us to play to our potential, give 100 percent effort, and most importantly, play as a team. If we can do that, that will be a good close to the season.”

Results of the Belle Fourche game were not available at the time of publication.