WATERTOWN — It wasn’t the start, but the finish that helped Watertown High School’s volleyball team qualify for the state Class AA tournament for the fourth-straight year.
Seventh-seeded Watertown bounced back to post a 3-1 win over 10th-seeded Brookings on Thursday night in the Watertown Civic Arena. After dropping the opening set 25-23, the Arrows rebounded to win the final three sets 25-17, 25-19 and 25-15.
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“We definitely did not,” Watertown 6-foot senior middle hitter Reese Munger said when asked about not wanting to be the Arrow team to snap the streak of state-tourney appearances.
Even though Watertown had posted two 3-0 sweeps over Brookings (15-17) during the regular season, the Arrows knew the third meeting wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.
“You know every game in the SoDak 16 is going to be tougher than an in-season game. We saw that last year with our SoDak 16 match against Huron, every set was close even though they weren’t during the season,” Munger said. “With all the upsets that can happen, you have to come in ready to play.”
It’s not as if the Arrows didn’t do that, even with losing the opening set. The Bobcats played well but still trailed 19-17 and again 23-22 before pulling out the win by scoring the final three points.
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The two teams battled back and forth in the second set with the Bobcats taking an 13-11 lead before Watertown closed with a 14-4 spurt that featured a handful of kills each from Munger and 6-0 junior outside hitter Torrence Tipton.
A big turning point came in the third set after Brookings had built a 15-11 lead. The Arrows scored five of the next six points to pull even and closed out the victory with six-straight points off the serve from senior defensive specialist Hensley Hogue and some key kills from 5-11 senior outside hitter Carighan Klatt.
“This time of the season, the records don’t matter. It’s going to be a competitive game no matter what,” Watertown first-year head coach Havyn Heinz said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, so I’m just really proud of the girls that they just stayed consistent and finally find their groove.”
Watertown’s Reese Munger (10) and Carighan Klatt (17) defend at the net against Brookings’ Avery Dentlinger during their Class AA SoDak 16 state-qualifying volleyball match on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in the Watertown Civic Arena. Watertown won 3-1.
The really only easy set for Watertown was the final one when they snapped a 5-5 tie with seven-straight points. The lead grew to double digits at 18-8 and again at 19-9 and the Bobcats couldn’t recover.
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Up front, the Arrows got 17 kills from Tipton and 13 each from Munger and Klatt. Tipton also added one solo and four block assists, Klatt one solo and two block assists and Munger six block asssits.
In the back row, seniors Hensley Hogue and Andi Olson provided 23 and 21 digs, respectively, and sophomore Maryn York contributed 20. Olson also went 17-19 serving with two aces, Munger 14-15 with two aces and York 14-14 with an ace. Setter Jaelyn Kettwig tallied 45 assists.
The Bobcats, seeking their first trip to state since 2018, received eight kills from Hadley Devine, 13 digs from Cora Eidem, 27 assists from Abbigail Buisker and two aces from Kendal Linstad.
Watertown now gets ready to play in the state tournament Nov. 19-21 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. The Arrows have lost to five of the top six seeds including No. 2 Brandon Valley, who they’ll face at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19.
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“We’re going to be ready to compete in those games at state,” said Munger. “We saw that last year when we lost to Sioux Falls Lincoln during the regular season and came back to beat them in the first round at state.”
“What’s real exciting is that we have competed with these good teams during the season and we were really only a few points away from changing the end result of those games,” Heinz said.
Watertown High School’s volleyball team qualified for the state Class AA tournament for the fourth-straight year by rallying for a 3-1 win over Brookings in a SoDak 16 match on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in the Watertown Civic Arena. The state tourney is slated for Nov. 19-21 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. Team members include, from left in front, student manager Brynlee Blank, Jordan Remmers, Maryn York, Andi Olson, Emma Olson, Hensley Hogue, Blakely Hogue and assistant coach Katie Toben; and back, head coach Havyn Heinz, assistant coach Jaelyn Kettwig, Camryn Jurrens, Brynn Koistinen, Ella Olson, Lauren Paulson, Torrence Tipton, Carighan Klatt, Reese Munger, Cambree Klatt, Jaelyn Kettwig, Kali Ellis, assistant coach Erica Paulson and assistant coach Kelly McCarty.
No. 9 Sioux Falls Jefferson 3, No. 8 Aberdeen Central 2
ABERDEEN — Sioux Falls Jefferson avenged a 3-1 regular-season loss at Aberdeen Central in September by winning the five-set marathon 25-21, 28-26, 18-25, 19-25 and 15-12.
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Aberdeen Central ended its season with a 16-11 record.
Lauryn Burckhard led the host Golden Eagles by going 9-10 serving with 26 kills and 16 digs. Kalli Huff finished 17-19 serving with seven aces and 28 digs and Julia Malsam 18-18 serving with two aces and 22 digs.
Annie Bindenagel added 14 kills, Kyley Wirebaugh eight kills, Cam Albrecht 28 assists and Alivia Miller nine kills, 27 assists and 23 digs.
CLASS A&B VOLLEYBALL: SoDak 16 winners include two area Class A and four Class B teams
Thursday’s Other Class AA SoDak 16 Scores
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No. 1 Harrisburg def. No. 16 Sioux Falls Roosevelt 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-11)
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No. 2 Brandon Valley def. No. 15 Sturgis 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-15)
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No. 3 Sioux Falls Lincoln def. No. 14 Rapid City Central 3-0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-16)
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No. 4 Sioux Falls Washington def. No. 13 Huron 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-14)
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No. 5 O’Gorman def. No. 12 Mitchell 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-23)
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No. 6 Rapid City Stevens def. No. 11 Yankton 3-2 (25-27, 25-6, 23-25, 25-17, 15-10)
Watertown’s Maryn York makes a dig during a Class AA SoDak 16 state-qualifying volleyball match against Brookings on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in the Watertown Civic Arena. Watertown won 3-1.
State Class AA Pairings
Thursday, Nov. 19-21. First-round pairings on Nov. 19.
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No. 1 Harrisburg (29-4) vs. No. 9 Sioux Falls Jefferson (13-13), 11 a.m.
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No. 4 Sioux Falls Washington (18-6) vs. No. 5 O’Gorman (19-8), 12:45 p.m.
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No. 2 Brandon Valley (27-5) vs. No. 7 Watertown (19-9), 5 p.m.
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No. 3 Sioux Falls Lincoln (19-4) vs. No. 6 Rapid City Stevens (27-8), 6:45 p.m.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sportsor email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown qualifies for state Class AA tourney for fourth-straight year
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