SIOUX FALLS — The three-time Class AA state champions and undefeated Harrisburg Tigers led the way on the annual all-state selections for the South Dakota Volleyball Coaches Association.
The 31-0 Tigers, winners of 78 matches in a row to end the season, had two of the six first-team selections on the postseason honor squad.
Members of the all-state first team include Harrisburg senior libero Maggie Meister and junior outside hitter Gabi Zachariasen, Sioux Falls Jefferson senior right-side/outside hitter Emory Brosnahan, Watertown senior outside hitter Emery Thury, O’Gorman senior outside hitter Keira McManus, Sioux Falls Roosevelt senior setter Kate Wiebesiek and Sioux Falls Washington senior outside hitter Kaelyn Snoozy.
Meister, a 5-foot-7 libero, led the Tigers defense with 590 digs, which was the most of anyone in Class AA. The South Dakota State commit was at her best in the postseason, with at least 20 digs in all four matches in the Class AA playoffs. She finished with 1,827 career digs and 691 digs and was a three-time Class AA all-state player, with back-to-back first-team selections.
The 6-foot Zachariasen proved to be the go-to hitter for the Tigers in their undefeated season, finishing with 403 kills, a .312 hitting percentage, 221 digs, 32 aces and 32 blocks. The University of South Dakota commit capped her season with 28 kills in the state championship match, a 3-1 win over Sioux Falls Washington on Nov. 23. She has 1,279 kills and 709 digs to her name with her senior season still ahead.
Brosnahan, a 6-foot senior right-side/outside hitter, powered the Cavaliers to the No. 2 seed in the postseason and a fourth-place finish at the state tournament with a 21-6 record. She finished with 332 kills, 37 aces, 36 blocks and 296 digs. Brosnahan has signed to play Division I volleyball in the Summit League, heading to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Thury, a 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter, powered the Arrows with a Class AA-best 509 kills for the season and a rate of 4.9 kills per set, with a hitting percentage of .332. She also had 357 digs and 36 blocks. Her career kills total went over 1,000 at the Class AA state tournament, finishing at 1,037 kills while Watertown posted a 26-8 season and a sixth-place finish. Thury, who was a first-team all-state pick for the second-straight year, will play collegiate volleyball in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference at St. Cloud State in Minnesota.
McManus proved to be a force at the net for the Knights, who took third place in Class AA with a 25-6 record. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter finished with 171 kills, 45 aces and 70 blocks. She’s committed to play college volleyball at NCAA Division III College of St. Benedict.
Wiebesiek finished with 874 assists, 215 digs, 43 aces and 101 kills for the Rough Riders, who finished with 21 wins and a fifth-place finish at the Class AA state tournament. A three-year stalwart in the middle for Roosevelt, the 5-foot-6 Wiebesiek finished her Rough Rider career with 2,273 assists and 593 digs. Wiebesiek has signed to play college volleyball at Division II-bound University of Jamestown in North Dakota.
Snoozy, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter, led a talented Warriors team to the Class AA state championship match in a 22-5 season, with Snoozy putting up 462 kills and a .308 hitting percentage, plus 34 aces, 24 total blocks and 342 digs. For her career, she posted 1,089 kills and 1,029 digs playing her final two seasons at Washington after starting at Harrisburg. Snoozy is committed to play volleyball at Division II powerhouse Concordia-St. Paul in Minnesota.
Members of the second team include Sioux Falls Washington senior libero Taryn Kirsch and outside hitter Cate Legel, Sioux Falls Jefferson senior middle/right-side hitter Isabel Simmons, O’Gorman senior setter Kyra Hermanson, Brandon Valley junior middle hitter Abby Gruber, Aberdeen Central sophomore outside hitter Lauryn Burckhard and Harrisburg freshman setter Josalyn Samuels. Kirsch, Hermanson and Samuels were both honored for a second-straight year, with Kirsch and Hermanson as first-team picks in 2023. All 14 honorees on the all-state teams were on state tournament-qualifying teams.
The second team is long on future Division I talent. For volleyball, Kirsch is a University of Illinois signee, while Legel has signed on at the University of South Dakota, and Simmons is committed to the University of Dayton. As a sophomore, Burckhard committed earlier this year to play women’s basketball at South Dakota State.
The Trust Project
