MITCHELL, S.D. — Mitchell volleyball opened the 2026 season with a four-set victory over Sturgis on Friday night, giving new head coach Amy Tyler a win in her first match with the Kernels.
Mitchell defeated the Scoopers 25-21, 28-26, 23-25, 32-30 in a match that featured several tightly contested sets.
Freshman Nia Talley led the Kernels with 20 kills, while fellow freshman CeCe Morgan added 12 kills. Sophomore Ashley Haring had six kills and Mitchell’s only block.
The Kernels finished with 48 kills and 12 errors on 148 attacks for a .182 hitting percentage.
Londyn Hajek led Mitchell with 18 digs, followed by Talley with 17 and senior Cassidy Korzan with 12. Sloan Stoebner recorded 39 assists in the victory.
Mitchell also had 11 service aces, with Macey Bessler accounting for seven. Talley added three aces.
The Kernels return to action Saturday at the Huron Invitational, where they will face Chester at 10 a.m. Chester enters the tournament ranked No. 1 in Class B. Mitchell will also face No. 3 Northwestern, No. 1 Class A Dell Rapids and Spearfish during the invitational.
Mitchell then travels to Harrisburg on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. matchup against the No. 1 team in Class AA.
The Harrisburg match will be broadcast on KORN News Radio FM 101.3/AM 1490 and KORNRadio.com, with play-by-play by Travis Kriens.