A region-by-region look at the Mitchell-area volleyball playoff picture

Oct. 19—With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Mitchell-area high school volleyball teams across Classes A and B are working to strengthen their positions in the seed-point standings before postseason region tournaments begin Nov. 2-3.Several area teams have established themselves among the top contenders in their respective regions, while others are looking to build momentum and finish the regular season on a high note.Here is a breakdown of where every Mitchell-area team stands in its respective region, including team records, recent results and remaining regular-season schedules through matches played Saturday, Oct. 17.Deubrook Area leads the standings with a 20-6 record, just ahead of second-place Wolsey-Wessington at 20.5. There is a difference of less than four-tenths of a point in the seed-point standings. The Dolphins started the season at 10-1 and have only lost to Class A Sioux Valley since the month of October began.Wessington Springs sits at No. 6 in the 10-team Region 2 seed-point standings with an 11-14 record, trailing Deubrook Area, Wolsey-Wessington, No. 3 Estelline/Hendricks, No. 4 Castlewood and No. 5 Arlington. The Spartans played a top team in the region for the first time on Oct. 15 and Wolsey-Wessington earned the sweep 3-0.As has been the case in recent seasons, Region 3B remains stacked, with three of the top-six teams in Class B overall seed points and four of the top-10. That includes Colman-Egan (22-3), Dell Rapids St. Mary (23-2), Chester (21-4) and Bridgewater-Emery (22-4).The Huskies have dropped back-to-back matches against Avon, the top team in Region 5B, and Colman-Egan, which leads Region 3B. After that, the Huskies defeated four Class A teams in Milbank on Saturday, including a win over 18-6 Sioux Valley for B-E's highest value win in seed points this season.Sanborn Central/Woonsocket sits one spot behind Bridgewater-Emery at No. 5 in the Region 3B seed-point standings with a 15-8 record. The Blackhawks have won seven matches in a row since the 281 Conference tournament on Oct. 3.SCW hosts B-E on Friday, Oct. 23 in Woonsocket. The Huskies also play powerhouse Chester at home on Oct. 27 in Emery.The remainder of the Mitchell-area teams in Region 3B includes Hanson at No. 6 with a 10-14 record, Ethan at No. 7 with an 8-16 mark, Howard at No. 8 with a 5-19 record, Canistota at No. 9 with a 3-16 record and Mitchell Christian School at No. 10 with a 3-14 mark.The Region 4B standings are led by Gayville-Volin, as the Raiders have only built on their 2025 state tournament appearance with a 28-2 record this season. Aside from two losses at the Sanford Pentagon tournament on Sept. 26, the Raiders haven't been beat this season and have 12 wins in a row.Parkston is in the No. 2 slot in the 4B region standings with a 14-8 record. The Trojans have won six of their last eight matches and are one of the area teams that can add some quality wins at the Southeast South Dakota Conference tournament on Saturday, Oct. 24 in Wagner. The Trojans are No. 16 in the overall seed order in Class B.Freeman, at No. 23 in Class B seed order, is another Mitchell-area team positioned near the top of the region, holding the No. 3 spot with a 17-8 record. The Flyers have 10 wins in their last 13 matches. Centerville (13-11), Sioux Falls Lutheran (11-10) and Irene-Wakonda (12-9) hold the No. 4-through-No. 6 slots in the region standings as of Oct. 18.Avon sits atop the Region 5B seed-point standings with a 17-6 record, leading a group of area teams that includes No. 2 Corsica-Stickney, No. 3 Lyman, No. 4 Burke and No. 5 Tripp-Delmont/Armour.The Pirates have won six consecutive matches, including victories over Bridgewater-Emery, Burke, Viborg-Hurley and Centerville twice. Avon is at No. 15 overall in Class B.Corsica-Stickney holds the No. 2 spot in Region 5B with an 18-12 record, which was powered by an eight-match win streak in the middle of the season and an impressive 3-2 win over Winner last week. As the top-two teams in the region, Avon and Corsica-Stickney play in Corsica on Tuesday, Oct. 20.The Jaguars are followed by Lyman in third (14-11), Burke (14-12) in fourth and Tripp-Delmont/Armour (10-13) in fifth.Wagner holds a narrow lead in the Region 5A seed-point standings with an 19-5 record, sitting just ahead of Lennox, which is 17-10. Wagner is No. 7 in the Class A overall seed list, while Lennox is at No. 10.Wagner has won eight of its last nine matches and has two regular-season matches remaining, along with the SESD Conference tournament. The Red Raiders travel to Winner on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in another important late-season matchup.Mount Vernon/Plankinton sits comfortably at No. 3 in Region 5A with a 15-8 record. The Titans have found their stride in the second half of the season, winning 10 of their last 12 matches.McCook Central/Montrose holds the No. 4 spot in Region 5A with a 13-11 record, while Parker/Marion is at No. 5 with a 12-14 mark and Bon Homme is holding the No. 6 position with an 8-11 record. The six-team region format in Region 5A and 6A means the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will have a bye to the semifinals, needing only one win to reach the SoDak 16.Winner leads Class A Region 6 with a 17-6 record, followed by No. 2 Platte-Geddes, No. 3 Mobridge-Pollock, No. 4 Chamberlain, No. 5 Stanley County and No. 6 Cheyenne-Eagle Butte.The Warriors started the season at 10-1 and has recently won six of their last eight matches. The final two best-of-five matches for Winner include hosting Wagner on Tuesday, Oct. 20 and Platte-Geddes on Oct. 26.Platte-Geddes sits at No. 2 with a 14-9 record and has also found success in the final weeks of the regular season. The Black Panthers have eight wins in their last 11 matches.Winner is No. 9 in the overall seed-point order in Class A, while Platte-Geddes is at No. 21. Winner, P-G and Chamberlain will all be at the SESD Conference tournament on Oct. 24.