Mitchell High School junior Lizzie Tyler is among the Class AA all-state volleyball selections, as picked by the South Dakota Volleyball Coaches Association.
Tyler, a 5-foot-5 outside hitter/setter, was one of the 14 overall selections and was picked to the second team. She is the first MHS volleyball player to receive all-state recognition of any kind since 2018, when senior outside hitter Chelsea Brewster was picked to the Class AA all-state first team.
“This is great recognition for Lizzie,” Mitchell volleyball coach Deb Thill said. “She does a lot of things for our team. Not many players can play two prime positions like she can being both a setter and outside hitter. She leads by example and pushes her teammates to do their best.”
Tyler finished the season with 185 kills, 39 aces, 19 total blocks, 342 digs and 434 set assists. She was the only selection on the Class AA all-state teams from a school that did not make the Class AA state tournament. The Kernels finished 11-13 on the season.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tyler went over 1,000 digs for her career during the season and finished her junior campaign with 1,108 career digs. She has 938 career set assists, 63 total blocks, 185 aces and 597 kills. Tyler was a Class A honorable mention player in 2019 while playing for Wagner as a freshman.
Her season included a season-high 18 kills in a five-set loss at Brandon Valley on Nov. 2. She finished with at least 10 digs or more in 17 of the Kernels’ final 18 matches of the season, including a career-high 31 digs in a four-set win over Watertown on Sept. 23, and added 12 matches with 20 set assists or more, including a pair of matches with 30 set assists each while splitting time in the setter role.
The Class AA first-team selections included five seniors and two juniors, which included O’Gorman setter/hitter Bergen Reilly and Sioux Falls Washington outside hitter Joslyn Richardson. The senior selections included Brandon Valley setter Liz Kopp, Harrisburg outside hitter Abby Meister, Sioux Falls Lincoln libero Brynn Kirsch, Sioux Falls Roosevelt setter Elizabeth Denevan and Sioux Falls Washington outside hitter Ellie Walker.
Reilly is a three-time first-team selection, with Kirsch repeating for the first team. Meister and Richardson were second team selections a year ago, with Denevan a second-team pick in both 2019 and 2020.
The first team has a number of seniors who have announced plans to play collegiately. Kirsch is set to play volleyball at the University of Kansas. Meister is committed to NCAA Division II Southwest Minnesota State, while Walker intends to play at Augustana University, and Kopp is bound for the University of Sioux Falls. A highly touted junior, Reilly has announced her plans to play at the University of Nebraska.
Joining Tyler on the Class AA second team was Huron senior middle hitter Emily Dale, Pierre junior outside hitter Ayverie Kaiser, Sioux Falls O’Gorman junior middle hitter Brogan Beck, Sioux Falls Lincoln senior outside hitter Baily Plourde, Sioux Falls Roosevelt senior outside hitter Mya Vandrovec and Sioux Falls Washington senior libero Jadyn Schetnan.
