Set for the SoDak 16: Bobcats prepped for postseason match at Watertown

BROOKINGS – The Brookings volleyball team will play Watertown in the Class AA SoDak 16 on Thursday night.

The Bobcats finished the season with a record of 15-16 and are the No. 10 seed. Watertown went 18-9 and is the No. 7 seed.

Brookings swept Huron in the final game of the regular season and head coach Erinn Thomas said that should give the Bobcats some momentum as they head into the postseason.

“Last week ended on a high note. We beat Huron 3-0 on senior night. So, we’re going in with some great momentum for our third matchup against Watertown. I’m excited to play them. It’s always a competitive game, and they’re one of our rivals, so it’ll be an exciting match on Thursday,” Thomas said.

Watertown swept Brookings in the two matches in the regular season. The first match was on Sept. 3 and the Arrows won by scores of 25-21, 25-15 and 25-19. The Arrows then came to Brookings on Sept. 24 and beat the Bobcats by scores of 25-18, 26-24 and 25-22. 

Thomas said her team played a lot better the second time against Watertown and thinks her team is different than when they played the Arrows in September.

“I think looking at our last two matchups with Watertown, we played them early on in the season and then played kind of midway through September. I thought we improved quite a bit in that second meeting. With where we are now in early November, both teams have grown and I think it’ll be a good matchup,” Thomas said.

Before the Huron match, Brookings was swept by Sioux Falls Washington and Sioux Falls Jefferson last week. But before last week, Brookings had won six of its past seven matches. Thomas said having a balanced output from her hitters has helped a lot for the Bobcats this season.

“I feel like for us, when we play well, we’re really balanced,” Thomas said. “Some of the other teams that we play will have one or two go-to hitters, and I think the unique and fun thing to see this season is that all five of our hitters have a lot of equal stats. 

“I think that’s a credit to Abby [Busiker], our setter, for diversifying our offense. There hasn’t been one specific person, I would say the collective whole of all five of our hitters really helps us be successful. That also starts with the back row and our passing as well.”

Watertown is coming off a 3-0 loss to Brandon Valley. The Arrows won four matches all by a score of 2-0 in the East/West Tournament in Spearfish and Sturgis a little over two weeks ago, but then they split matches with Sioux Falls Washington and Aberdeen Central.

Thomas said the Bobcats have to make the Arrows work for their points on Thursday.

“We’ve got to serve tough and get them on a system, and then just win balls in transition. You know, when they send us a free ball, we’ve got to be able to capitalize. We have to run our offense and not give them anything too easy. That’s been a big focus of ours this week in practice,” Thomas said.

Brookings has not had a lot of success in the SoDak 16 in recent years. The Bobcats have been swept in the match to get to the State Tournament in each of the past five seasons.

Thomas said her team recognizes that the postseason is different from the regular season, but she also said that it’s one game and if you can come out on top, you get to go to State.

“I think our girls, you know, recognize and know that [the postseason] is different, and know that the stakes are higher. But you know, in any sense, in the postseason, it’s like both teams are 0-0, and if you win on Thursday night, you get to go to State. So I think it’s a little bit of both [emphasizing that the match is important, but also reminding them that it is just one match],” Thomas said.

Thursday’s match starts at 7 p.m. and you can watch it on the ArrowTV YouTube page.