Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Drake/Anamoose junior outside hitter Shania Martin serves the ball during the first set of Tuesday’s match at South Prairie. The Raiders swept the Royals, winning 26-24, 25-23, 25-14.

Head coach Annie Jo Arnold sees potential in the Drake/Anamoose volleyball team. The young, scrappy Raiders don’t go down without a fight.

Although Drake/Anamoose went back and forth with South Prairie in Tuesday’s tumultuous match, the Raiders swept the Royals by set scores of 26-24, 25-23, 25-13.

With the out-of-district win, the Raiders improved to 5-16 overall (1-6 District 11). The Royals dropped to 3-22-1 overall (1-6 District 12) after their senior night contest.

“A lot of young talent is coming,” Arnold said. “The last couple of years, we’ve really had to dial in and make defense our No. 1 (priority). It’s kind of been a rocky road for us this season, but we’re starting to really dial in at the right time.”

The Raiders’ defense held on after the Royals mounted multiple comebacks. The youthful Drake/Anamoose squad showed some of that potential in those tense moments.

“I tell the girls, ‘When you finally realize that and see that, you’re going to be scary good,'” Arnold said. “That’s just what we are starting to see now, them really starting to come together and focus. It’s good timing.”

Senior libero Bethany Filler aided the Raiders’ all-around efforts. Filler notched team-highs in digs (eight) and aces (four).

“We just stayed determined,” Filler said. “We kept opening up our mouths and talking. We just need to work hard. The games where we work as a team and as a family are where we come together.”

Drake/Anamoose also overcame another obstacle — South Prairie’s student section. The rambunctious home crowd was amped up for senior night, but the Raiders persevered.

“In big gyms like this, it’s hard to hear each other and it’s hard to talk,” Filler said. “But we figured it out.”

Junior outside hitter Shaina Martin led the Raiders’ offensive efforts, contributing a match-high 10 kills. Sophomore middle hitter Riley Hauff and senior outside hitter Emmy Dockter added nine kills apiece.

Drake/Anamoose senior setter Roxy Wagner dished out a match-high 26 assists, while Hauff, Dockter, and freshman middle hitter Taryn Sieg all added one block each.

“They are really committed this year,” Arnold said. “They set a really big goal this summer that they really wanted to work toward and succeed at. That’s making it to regionals. Our record doesn’t show that, but a lot of our games have been super-close. We just haven’t been able to finish.”

Sophomore middle blocker McKynna Stenberg posted a team-high six kills for the Royals, while junior setter Mariah Braasch recorded a team-high 12 assists. Sophomore outside hitter Molly Frey earned a match-high six blocks.

“We are at that point where we have shown that we can play with teams,” South Prairie head coach Kayla Palczewski said. “We are right there. We’ve got to work on defensively coming together as a team to be able to dig up some of those things. A lot of our leaders are going to come up and bring the younger ones with them. I already see their leadership.”

South Prairie will play a 6 p.m. contest on Thursday at Westhope/Newburg, while Drake/Anamoose will host Lewis & Clark/Berthold at 5 p.m. on Oct. 28.

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.