The Wagner vol leybal l team’s season came to a close with a 7th place finish at the Class A State Volleyball tournament November 18th. With an overall record of 27-8, it was a great end to a very successful season. The seniors on the volleyball team could not agree more and would like to say a few things to their coaches, teammates, fans and community.

Abriana Leines wants to thank all the community members, parents and businesses for all their support and of course the fans for making the trip to Rapid City to cheer the team on. “We made a lot of memories this past season and lasting friendships with the underclassmen”, says Abriana. She cannot wait to see them all step up next season. Go Big Red!

For Kya Kjeldgaard, she could not be more thankful to live in a community that supports high school sports. “Our team worked hard this season and you can see that in how we finished the year”, says Kya. The coaches gave the team the tools to succeed and it was up to them to use them.

Madi Knebel said, “I’m extremely proud to have been a part of this program”. Having amazing teammates and coaches made this season one I’ll always remember.

“I would like to thank our parents, fans, teammates, and community for making this year a memorable one”, is what Macy Koupal had to say.

For Sabrina Kreber, she felt very blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a great team as the Wagner Red Raiders! She will forever cherish the memories. She would like to say a “THANK YOU to my coaches, Steven, family/ friends, the community, VB parents and my teammates for all the support and memories this season and in the past.” This has been a fun and amazing journey.

Aubrey Medricky is incredibly thankful for all of the support from the community, parents, and coaches. “I’m proud of our team and how far we went this year and I can’t wait to come back and watch how far they get next year”, says Aubrey.

Lastly, head coach Stacey Knebel has a few words to wrap up this 2023 volleyball season. Going into the season, the team’s goal was to play with each other and for each other, which was also their theme for this season. The team took each game match by match to make it to the state tournament. Although the team faced some challenges along the way, they never lost their focus, just needed to stop for adjustments.

This year’s team was a special group of young ladies. As they started playing and getting through the challenges that they faced as a team, they became stronger. After beating Mobridge-Pollock in the SoDak 16 and advancing to the state tournament, Coach Knebel was elated, especially for the team’s seniors.

Knebel was not surprised this season by anything, instead she was impressed. She was impressed at how this group of young ladies came together and got through some tough times this season. It was truly humbling to her as a coach to watch each of the girls step up and learn how to deal with more than just volleyball. This group became very close on and off the court and she sees that as one of the team’s greatest accomplishments this season. Coach Knebel did learn from the girls throughout the season. She learned that by coming together as a team it can make a huge impact not only on performance but as friends and to their volleyball family. These girls have been more than just a volleyball team to Stacey. Coach Knebel considers them all family and will cherish every belly laugh, joke, tick-tock and so much more they experienced together. For Coach Knebel, “I am so sad it’s over but I will cherish this season forever”.

As Stacey looks to next year’s season she says, “Although we lose a core group of seniors, I know the underclassmen learned a lot and want to carry on the strong tradition that has been set”. She always has high hopes from year to year. She has no doubt that the underclassmen will step up and push each other to build a solid team. The team will have some strong young ladies coming back to the varsity team: Ashlyn Koupal, Ravyn Medricky, Braxton Nedved, Brylie Link, Shana Lensing, Libby Kotab, Hayden Fischer, Brianna Fuchs and Hannah Holzbauer.

Coach Knebel has a few thank yous that she would like to extend. To her seniors, she cannot thank them enough for all the memories over the years. She is extremely proud of each and every one of them. “I love you all and I can’t wait to see what you do in your futures”, says Coach Knebel. To the Wagner community, thank you for all your support. These girls and the coaches so appreciate all that you do for the team. The support is well noticed and it makes it so much more special to have amazing support. To her fellow coaches, Kelsey DeBey and Lauren Bastemeyer, thank you for the time and dedication to the girls and the program. This is our second family and she could not imagine coaching with anyone else. Last but not least to the fans and parents, Wagner has the best. You are the biggest supporters and these girls appreciate you all so much. Thank you for the memories and always being there win or lose. Red Raider fans are the best!

Congratulations to all the members of the Wagner Red Raider volleyball team, Coach Knebel and fellow coaches. Thank you for a very memorable season.