SPEARFISH, S.D. – In a volleyball matchup with playoff implications, the Sturgis Scoopers came out firing on all cylinders and beat the Spearfish Spartans in four sets, 25-19, 25-17, 25-27, 25-18.
The Spartans beat Sturgis on Sept. 21 at West Gym in a five-set battle and the Scoopers evened the season series at one match apiece.
The Scoopers (6-15) currently sit in last place in the South Dakota Class AA volleyball power point rankings and desperately need wins to move up into the top 16 in order to make the postseason playoffs.
Set one was a battle early on, as both teams traded points and the Scoopers led 19-18 late in the set. Sturgis then scored 6 straight points to put away the Spartans and won 25-19.
The Scoopers were tied 9-9 with Spearfish early in set two until Sturgis found their groove, outscoring the Spartans 16-8 to win the set, 25-17.
Sturgis jumped out to a 21-14 lead on the Spartans and looked like they would roll to a three-set victory, but Spearfish didn’t fold in front of their home crowd and roared back to win the set, 27-25.
Scooper senior Joellen Cano was nursing a sore ankle and sat out much of set four. Head coach Deb Cano decided to go with a 6-2 offensive set and it worked like a charm. Sturgis jumped out to a 16-10 lead in the set, led by eighth grader Faith King and senior Dylan Reman. The Scoopers did not surrender the lead and dominated set four, 25-18 to win the match.
King showed her all-around game throughout the match with five aces, one block, seven kills and 13 assists while Reman finished the night with 13 kills. Joellen Cano contributed two aces and 12 assists. Stella Marcus led Spearfish (4-12) with six aces, three blocks, 11 kills and one assist.
The Scoopers are in action this weekend as they travel to Brookings to take part in the East/West Invitational Tournament. Sturgis’ next home match is Thursday, Oct. 14 as they host Lead-Deadwood for a “Big Pink Fundraiser”, a senior project by Joellen Cano to raise money for cancer research.
