After flying high against Mt. Vernon/Plankinton on Tuesday, Miller came back down to earth. The Rustlers fell just short of the Hitchcock-Tulare Patriots by a score of 3-2 on Thursday. The Rustlers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Patriots apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in October of 2024.
Miller took a 2-1 lead headed into the fourth set, but sadly they lost the next two. The match finished with set scores of 21-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10.
Paige Werdel paced Miller's offense, picking up 14 kills. Werdel got some help from Gracen Werdel and her 35 assists. Finally, Paige was also a dominant defender, finishing with a team-high four blocks.
Hitchcock-Tulare can attribute much of their success to Avarie Estey, who had 11 digs. That's the most digs Estey has posted since back in September of 2024.
Rustlers
| 10/09/25 @ Hitchcock-Tulare | 2-3 |
| 10/07/25 vs Mt. Vernon/Plankinton | 3-0 |
| 10/02/25 vs Parkston | 3-2 |
| 09/30/25 vs Chamberlain | 3-0 |
| 09/27/25 vs Sioux Falls Christian | 0-2 |
With the loss, Miller broke their three-match winning streak and moved their record to 13-7. As for Hitchcock-Tulare, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 18 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-4 record this season.
Miller and Hitchcock-Tulare should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps South Dakota Rankings. The Rustlers (ranked 29th) will meet Platte/Geddes (ranked 88th) at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Hitchcock-Tulare will face off against Langford at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday with a big rank advantage (27 vs. 104).
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
