Warner Takes Over No. 1 in South Dakota Class B Volleyball Poll
The short version
- Warner claimed 11 of 12 first-place votes to take over No. 1 in Class B, ending Chester's run of 27 straight polls at the top.
- The change followed Warner's 2-1 win over Chester at the Sanford Pentagon volleyball tournament in Sioux Falls on Saturday.
- Before Saturday, Chester had not lost to a South Dakota Class B opponent since the 2022 state championship match.
- Harrisburg led Class AA and Sioux Falls Christian led Class A, each with all 12 first-place votes.
- Watertown rose to No. 4 in Class AA, while the Class A top five stayed the same.
Warner's 2-1 win over Chester at the Sanford Pentagon tournament ended Chester's 27-edition hold on No. 1 in the South Dakota Prep Media Class B poll.
Warner has taken over the No. 1 spot in Class B in the South Dakota Prep Media volleyball poll released Monday, the first change at the top of the class this season. The Monarchs received 11 of the 12 first-place votes in the rankings, which list the top five teams in each class with records and total points.
The promotion came after Warner beat Chester 2-1 on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon volleyball tournament in Sioux Falls. Warner improved to 17-3 with the win, while Chester Area is now 15-4 and moves into the No. 2 slot.
Chester had occupied No. 1 for 27 consecutive editions of the poll before Monday's release. The last team besides Chester to sit atop the class was Warner, which was ranked first on Oct. 30, 2023, to close that regular season.
The two programs have a lengthy shared history in the state tournament. Chester captured the 2025 Class B state championship with a 33-1 record, defeating Warner 3-0 in the title match in Rapid City. The schools have met in each of the last four state championship matches, with Warner winning in 2022 and Chester taking the three finals since.
Saturday's result also snapped a long run of success within the class. Entering the weekend, Chester had not lost to a South Dakota Class B opponent since that 2022 championship meeting, a drought that covered three full seasons.
The rest of the Class B top five consists of Colman-Egan (13-2) at No. 3, Bennett County (18-1) at No. 4 and Northwestern (15-4) at No. 5, with Northwestern back in the group after one week outside it. Gayville-Volin, which was No. 5 last week, fell to the first position outside the rankings. Warner's 59 points lead the class, ahead of Chester's 49, Colman-Egan's 28, Bennett County's 22 and Northwestern's 11; the one first-place vote not cast for Warner went to Chester. Among others receiving votes, Gayville-Volin collected 6, Harding County 3 and Dell Rapids St. Mary 2.
Class AA had one shift in its order. Harrisburg (11-3) stayed at No. 1 with all 12 first-place votes and 60 points, while Sioux Falls Lincoln (9-2) held second with 46 and Brandon Valley (12-4) third with 38. Watertown (9-5) rose one spot to No. 4 on 18 points, and O'Gorman (7-5) slipped one place to No. 5 with 11. Sioux Falls Washington, Aberdeen Central and Rapid City Stevens also received votes.
Class A was unchanged from top to bottom. Sioux Falls Christian (14-7) kept No. 1 with 12 first-place votes and 60 points, ahead of Dell Rapids (16-2) with 48, Dakota Valley (13-4) with 34, Clark/Willow Lake (13-1) with 20 and St. Thomas More (19-3) with 15. Hamlin and Lennox received votes outside the top five.
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