NEAR HYSTERICS, the girls celebrate their State “B” berth after scoring the winning point.

The Sanborn Central/Woonsocket Blackhawk girls’ volleyball team is State Tournament bound.
The girls played Arlington for the third consecutive year in the Region 3B Championship, and after hard losses in 2013 and 2014, the Sanborn County team finally prevailed.
The 4-1 win put the 18-10 Blackhawks in its second state sports event in two weeks and the first time for the Sanborn Central/Woonsocket co-op. Woonsocket made a trip to the Tourney in 2007.
SCW enters the state tournament as the eighth seed and have been matched up with No. 1 seeded 27-2 Chester Area for the opening game of the State B Tournament.
The first serve will take place at noon on Thursday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. The winner of that game plays the winner of No. 4 Parker and No. 5 Philip Friday at 6 p.m. The loser plays Friday at noon.
Parker and Philip play the second match of the tournament at 1:45 p.m. No. 3 Sully Buttes and No. 6 Platte-Geddes are matched up at 6 p.m., followed by No. 2 Warner and No. 7 Harding County at 7:45 p.m.
The Blackhawk girls were sent off to Sioux Falls Wednesday morning with a Wide Awake Hose Co. fire truck escort from Woonsocket to Sanborn Central School, to pick up teammates, and then on to Sioux Falls for practice.
Theme days have been organized by the Boosters with Thursday being “red, white and blue” day, wearing new volleyball State Tournament shirts. A pep rally will be held after the game from about 3-5 p.m.
Friday is “neon day” and a pep rally will be held at the same time. Saturday is Blackhawk day, where fans are asked to wear their black Blackhawk gear.
A welcome home celebration will be held at Sanborn Central on Sunday. Fans are encouraged to meet the team at the Country Pumper at noon to follow the team back to the gym, where a reception will take place.