Taryn Kloth's presence and performance in Olympics inspires Sioux Falls volleyball community

O’Gorman junior volleyball player Ali Jones had the unique experience of spending two separate afternoons being trained by Taryn Kloth.

When she was only 10, Jones and her older sister trained with Kloth in their basement. Later, after Jones met Kloth’s sister Londyn Smith, who is on the O’Gorman volleyball team, she got a second private lesson with Kloth, who worked with her on her setting and other volleyball skills.

Fast forward about six years from that initial training session and Kloth has made it from Sioux Falls to the grandest stage of beach volleyball, playing on a court set at the base of the Eiffel Tower in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kloth and her teammate Kristen Nuss went undefeated in pool play competition before being defeated in the Round of 16 by Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes.

Despite their exit, the Sioux Falls native and O’Gorman alumna provided plenty of excitement and inspiration to the community she grew up in with her presence and performance in the Olympics.

“It opens up that passion and that (thought) that they could be the next,” O’Gorman volleyball coach Cale Hect said. “That is like that kind of glass ceiling sort of idea. That shatters the glass ceiling, and who's the next person? Is it somebody in this gym? Somebody in Sioux Falls?”

O’Gorman volleyball players Kyra Hermanson, Zoie Roghair, and Jones all followed Kloth’s journey closely, watching all of her Olympic matches with family and friends. Hect watched some matches at home but also watched some from his job at Kairos Elite Volleyball Club, where Kloth also played when she was in Sioux Falls. Hect said he couldn't resist turning on the TV in the gym during Kloth's Round of 16 match, even though it was at the same time as a lesson he was running.

Kloth’s connection to Sioux Falls and O’Gorman is still strong. She has a sister on the O’Gorman volleyball team, so Kloth has attended a few O’Gorman matches and last year she connected with the team over Zoom.

“All the girls really enjoyed it, and look to her as that kind of role model that I think a lot of people need,” Hect said.

Hect said that while Kloth likely had a million other things to do, taking the time to talk to a high school volleyball team shows she’s willing to give back to where she came from and help the next generation of volleyball players.

“It definitely shows you that it’s possible,” Hermanson said of watching Kloth in the Olympics.

“Yeah, and it shows that if you work hard and never give up you could accomplish your dreams,” Jones said.

Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Taryn Kloth's presence and performance in Olympics inspires Sioux Falls volleyball community