The Stevens Raiders were knocked out of title contention by Sioux Falls Washington 23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-10, 17-15 in the first round of the state volleyball tournament Thursday. (Photo Jake Nordbye)

YANKTON–The difference between fighting to play for a state championship or losing and being able to finish no higher than fifth came down to only one point for the Rapid City Stevens Raiders at the state volleyball tournament Thursday.

There will be no state title game for the Raiders this year.

In the decisive final fifth set, number-four seeded Stevens led number-five seeded Sioux Falls Washington 15-14. One more spike to find an opening and hit the hardwood, one ace, one tip into space, and the Raiders would have advanced to meet number-one ranked Sioux Falls Roosevelt. With the game on the line, Rapid City’s standout hitter Kacey Herrmann came out of a timeout, took a deep breath, and put her hands on her knees. Across the net, Warriors heavy hitter Emma Hanson did the exact same thing. After five sets of gut wrenching tension the two teams could still not be separated.

After all the diving saves, the thunderous spikes, and a few mistakes, the entire season still came down to three plays. All three went the Warriors way.

Hanson went down the baseline keeping the game alive for Washington, 15-15. She then hit through a double block, tipping the ball skywards, the ball landed on the hardwood just between two diving Stevens defenders, 16-15 Warriors. The next point, a quick pass, helped Sadie Stotesbery go high above the Raiders block and finish a mamouth strike through the heart of the defense. 17-15 Washington. The Raiders dream of a championship, over.

“It really stings losing on the first round, especially considering our expectations,” said Herrmann who finished with 10 kills. “It came down to who made less mistakes and that wasn’t us. This is a great group of girls and I wouldn’t lose or win without any of them.”

This was not the way it was supposed to be for Stevens, once ranked first in the state.

How could the whole season crumble in just under a minute?

“They found some holes in our block, holes that haven’t been there for most of the year,” said Stevens head coach Josh Lien. “I thought we swung with them blow for blow, but we usually count on our block a little more. The staff and I just couldn’t quite get them in the right position today.”

The first two sets could not have gone better for the Raiders, for Washington the final points of both of the opening games were a disaster. Tight for the first twenty points, on both occasions the Warriors completely fell apart. They served into the net, had illegal touches, and missed numerous hits. Stevens, led by Hermmann and Margaret McCloud, powered their way to two victories. Both games were slugfests. 25-22, 25-20.

Washington looked frustrated, and chaotic. Stevens looked laid back, with smiles, and confidence.

However, Stevens appeared to lose their legs in the third set. The block was slow to set up, and the back line was left diving at hard hit balls which were too often out of reach. There was no decisive turning point, just a slow momentum swing to the Warriors. Put a frog into boiling water and he’ll jump right out. Slowly turn up the temperature and he’ll just sit and boil, never noticing the subtle change. That’s what happened to Stevens.

Washington came out in the third set with adjustments. They moved around the blockers, and repositioned hitters. They became more fluid and avoided silly mistakes. Suddenly, Stevens couldn’t stop the attack. The Warriors went on a run. 12-6 to 20-14. The Raiders fought back, but couldn’t overcome problems getting into system and executing the block. 25-23 Warriors.

The fourth set was all Washington. The Raiders lost confidence and never fully gained it back. Every spike found a hole, and Stevens made error after error. 25-10 Washington.

“The third and fourth games we just panicked a little bit,” said Hermmann. “We were just off tonight on things we’ve been trying to fine tune and practice on. I love my team, we were just off tonight.”

But even after the fourth set collapse the Raiders showed fight. Several times in the final set Stevens appeared to be on their way to victory. There were eight lead changes and the margin between the two teams never went above two points. The Raiders twice rallied from down two points to come back and take the lead, but ultimately Washington put away the final three points of the match.

Stevens will face Watertown in a consolation game on Friday at noon CST. Washington advances to play Roosevelt at 6 p.m. in the semis.