By Jaxson Miller

Another volleyball season has come to an end, and it was a great one for West Fargo Sheyenne.

Middle hitter Cally Tungseth had good things to say about the season, “I think the season went really great. My favorite part was watching everyone get better throughout the season.”

Tungseth concluded her sophomore season this year. She will be a huge factor in the next couple of years for the Mustangs.

Tungseth was one of the few sophomores on the team and contributed by getting a lot of blocks and kills at middle hitter.

Sheyenne finished 27-10 overall and as the consolation champions (fifth place) at the 2021 North Dakota Class A Volleyball State Tournament.

The Mustangs were swept by Bismarck High in the first round (25-22, 25-17, 25-21) before sweeping Bismarck St. Mary’s (25-13, 25-19, 25-18) and beating Bismarck Legacy in four sets (25-19, 21-25, 25-13, 25-15) in the consolation bracket.

It was a bright year and a bright finish for West Fargo Sheyenne. This was the Mustangs’ fourth straight trip to the state tournament.
Sheyenne has yet to reach the state championship.

Their four trips to the state tournament include a fifth place finish in 2018, a third place finish in 2019, a seventh place finish in 2020, and another fifth place finish in 2021.

A big goal for everyone next year is to do something big at state,” Tungseth said. “We will have so much potential to do huge things and I can’t wait to be apart of it when it happens!”

The Mustangs were looking good all-season long and were one of the favorites coming out of the Eastern Dakota Conference. Sheyenne held the top spot until the middle of the regular season.

The Mustangs swept the Fargo North Spartans in the first round of the EDC tournament before falling to the West Fargo Packers in the semifinal round.

Sheyenne then punched their fourth straight ticket to the state tournament as they avenged their late regular season loss to Fargo South in the state qualifier game.

It was an all-around team for Sheyenne in 2021 and the Mustangs had hardly any weak spots.

Most of the time up front, it was Cally Tungseth, Khloe Brown, Vivienne Heidt, and Lexus Terhark. Reagan Bogenreif and Kailee Waasdorp were some of the best outside hitters in the state.

Both of them were selected ALL-EDC team and Wassdorp was selected to All-State second team. Bogenreif was selected for All-Tourney team for West Fargo Sheyenne.

Mia Engel, Lydia Stevenson, Kennedy Colter, Brooke Johnson, Kira Karnopp, and Kallie Dodds played in the back row.

Engel and Stevenson had a lot of digs that came in huge moments throughout the 2021 campaign. Brooke Johnson and Kennedy Colter were some of the top servers and had minimal serving errors.

It was a solid finish for Vivienne Heidt, Lydia Stevenson, and Kira Karnopp. They concluded their volleyball high school careers.

Sophomore Mia Engel, who plays defensive specialist, spoke about the team chemistry and how Heidt, Stevenson, and Karnopp were great leaders, “I am very grateful for the experience I was given this season and I couldn’t have asked for better teammates and a better coaching staff.”

The Mustangs came out hot, winning 14 of their first 17 games. It seemed like the Mustangs were nearly unstoppable.

West Fargo High and Shanley gained momentum at the right time. Shanley swept Sheyenne at home, in a two-point matchup, back on Saturday, October 2.

Sheyenne got revenge against Shanley, by winning 2-1 at the Fargo Invite, the following weekend.

West Fargo High and Shanley played each other in the EDC championship and in the state tournament third place game. West Fargo High won both.

West Fargo Sheyenne has achieved a lot of goals year-by-year as a program, but the Mustangs have yet to be the last team standing.

Head coach Leah Newton, who won the 2021 EDC Coach of the Year award, has led the Mustangs to a brilliant 97-40 record since 2018. The program has been looking bright for the past four years and that success will likely continue.

Most of the team will be playing a lot of club volleyball to keep their skills sharp for next year along with a lot of lifting to get stronger.

West Fargo Sheyenne will have a large senior class for the 2022 season, which will be an advantage in terms of experience.

Cally Tungseth talked about what the team needs to improve on to be even better next year, “the team needs to work on consistency and not playing at a lower level just because the team we’re playing isn’t as good. I think what’ll fix this is a more competitive mindset.”

Down the stretch, the Mustangs lost four of their last eight games, which included Fargo Davies and Fargo South, who were well-rounded and solid programs in 2021.

Fargo Davies dethroned Bismarck Century back in the 2019 state championship, which gave the Eagles their first state title.

Bismarck Century reached the state title game for the 11th consecutive season in 2021, and won their 9th state title in program history.

This title also marks their sixth title in the last seven years.

It’s going to be an interesting next couple of seasons for North Dakota Class A volleyball. Both sides of the state will remain loaded in talent.

It’s going to take a lot of hard work and skill for the Mustangs to capture their first state title.

If West Fargo Sheyenne plays hard and doesn’t sleep on any other team, they are going to be a team in the running for the years to come.

One thing is certain, the Mustangs are a team that can not be underestimated.