Bottineau passes test
Stars are pushed by Bombers, but prevail in openerBy CRAIG HAUPERT, Staff Writer chaupert@minotdailynews.com
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Bottineau had an answer every time Lewis & Clark took even the slightest bit of control.
And once Bottineau regained control, well, the Bombers had no answer for that.
Whitney Page finished with eight kills, Ashleigh Aufforth had 15 assists and six aces and Krystal Erickson added four stuff blocks as Bottineau swept Lewis & Clark 3-0 (27-25, 25-11, 25-20) in first round of the Class B Region 6 Volleyball Tournament Monday at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.
Bottineau trailed 20-17 in game 1, 9-5 in game 2 and 13-11 in game 3, but met each deficit with an extended run that proved to be the difference in each game.
"The girls realized that so much of it was what we were not doing," Bottineau head coach Angie Bartholomay said. "We missed some critical serves, we had some balls that dropped when we were looking at each other. Our passing wasn't crisp. The girls realized it was things they needed to control. Once they focused, they came out and played well. I was happy they didn't fall apart after making those mistakes."
Bottineau's run in the opening game hurt Lewis & Clark the most. After taking a 20-17 lead, the Bombers watched as the Stars won five-straight points to lead 22-20. The Bombers rallied to tie it at 25, but Bottineau won 27-25.
"It's tough when you are ahead. That's what you work on, finishing those five points," Bombers head coach Brooke Storro said. "If a team is going to go ahead of us, we want them to earn their own points. We had a number of errors that helped them."
Bottineau turned a 9-5 deficit in game 2 into a 15-9 lead. In game 3, the Stars flipped a 13-11 deficit into 19-13 lead. The Stars will play defending region champion Kenmare in today's semifinal round.
"This is a good sign I think," Bartholomay said. "We are on the verge of gelling and coming together they way we want to play. We are making spurts, but we just need to make those spurts a little longer. Hopefully that will happen (tonight)."
Megan Limke led Lewis & Clark with six kills, while Alex Lahti had 15 assists and McKenzi Njos two blocks.
Velva 3, Glenburn 1
Brittney Thingstad did a little bit of everything Monday afternoon. Wait, make that a lot of everything.
Velva's senior middle finished with 20 kills, seven blocks, 15 digs and one ace in the Aggies' 3-1 win over Glenburn in the first round of the Region 6 tournament.
Thingstad and the Aggies were slow to start, and they didn't wake up until Glenburn built a 22-15 lead in the first game.
"We were really shook up early," Thingstad said. "We couldn't calm our nerves, but that happens to us a lot."
After a timeout, Velva clawed back to within one at 24-23, and while it lost the game 25-23, the rally set the tone for the rest of the match.
Velva won the following games comfortably 25-16, 25-21 and 25-15 to set up today's first semifinal with Our Redeemer's Christian School.
"At the end (of the first game) I knew we would be okay," Thingstad said. "We were playing better and I knew our level of play wouldn't drop from there."
Glenburn's Ashley Matson, Amanda Rutherford and Krissi Lesmann all finished with eight kills, while Meghan Lavachek had 33 assists and Kiah Smith 40 digs.
Velva's Bailey Thomas added 10 digs and setter Ali Podoll had 25 assists and three aces.
Our Redeemer's 3,
Newburg-Westhope 0
Courtney Jacobsen and Sarah Christopher combined for 20 kills and Ashley Koppinger threw in seven aces as Our Redeemer's made quick work of Newburg-Westhope 3-0 in the first round of the Region 6 tournament.
Jacobsen finished with a match-high 12 kills and Christopher added eight more for the Knights, who won by game scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-18.
"The first game was clean. We passed well and worked on the things we needed to. That is what you want to see," Knights head coach Sherry Carlson said. "Hopefully we can carry that into (today's match with Velva)."
Knights' setter Payton Ringoen tallied 25 assists, while Mataya Grigsby had three aces and Koppinger five kills.
Kenmare 3, Rugby 0
Kenmare was never threatened in its first round match with Rugby, but the Panthers made Kenmare work for the final point.
After winning the first two games 25-11, 25-12, Kenmare quickly moved to match point at 24-10 in game 3. The Panthers won the next five points before middle Katie King pounded one of her match-high 15 kills to send the Honkers into today's semifinal matchup with Bottineau.
"Our main objective was to get a feel for the floor," Kenmare head coach Tim Wallstrum said. "The floor is different, the atmosphere is different than what we are used to. The first round is kind of about feeling out everything and it doesn't seem like anyone plays really well in the first round."
King also finished with four blocks, while Lexie Munson had 24 assists, Dayna Froseth six aces and Macie Harris 10 digs.




