For the third straight year, Chester has won the ‘B’ state volleyball championship. The Flyers defeated Warner 3-0 on Saturday night to win the title.
This is also the fourth straight year that Warner and Chester have met to decide the state championship. The Monarchs won it in the 2022 showdown, but it’s been Chester ever since.
“It’s about these kids and I love every one of those kids like I do my own daughters,” said Flyers head coach Jean O’Hara. “They truly are daughters, and this one is super special.”
The Flyers were led on the offensive attack by Lily Van Hal, who finished with 15 kills. Jacy Wolf was right behind her in the kills category with 14. Wolf also contributed with 16 set assists, while Van Hal had 14. Defensively it was Gracie Huntimer with 19 digs that led the team. But from top to bottom, with talent across the board, plenty of players stepped up in big ways during this week’s state title run.
“I thought Emmerson Eppard stepped up and had a fantastic state tournament. Katie Schut last night, huge night. And Gracie Huntimer, wow, that kid kept a lot of balls off the court and put them right in system for us to be able to control it, and that’s huge,” explained O’Hara. “Any given night I thought it was a full team effort, super proud of these kids.”
Things will look a bit different for Chester next year as seven seniors will graduate this coming spring. It’s tied for the largest class within the Flyers volleyball program.
“It’s going to tug on my heart a little bit,” said O’Hara with a smile. “Tonight and tomorrow are going to be kind of tough ones, but what a way to go out.”
2025 was an incredible season for the Flyers. They lost just one match all year and it was to Dakota Valley, who this weekend won the Class A state volleyball championship. They also had quality wins over ‘A’ runner-up Dell Rapids and ‘AA’ Sioux Falls Lincoln, who were the consolation champions at the state tournament.
The state championship caps an amazing season for the seven senior, coach O’Hara, and the entire Flyers community. Celebration time indeed for Chester.
