The quest for a sixth consecutive Region 6 volleyball championship started with a stress-free first-round sweep for Our Redeemer’s Monday evening at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

ORCS (37-2-3) defeated Westhope/Newburg (6-20) by set scores of 25-5, 25-10, 25-13.

“When you step onto the court, you want to control the game the way you know-how,” ORCS head coach Kara Nunziato said. “I think the girls did a great job executing from point to point.”

The District 12 top-seeded Knights quickly sucked the life out of the Auditorium by methodically racking up points against the Eagles in the opening set.

Alex Eisen/MDN Our Redeemer's senior Annie Folden prepares to serve the ball Monday evening against Westhope/Newburg. Folden finished with a team-high four aces.

Per usual, senior middle hitter Annie Folden was dominant with a match-high 16 kills. Sophomore Sydney Popinga also reached double figures with 11 kills.

“It can be a challenge sometimes to keep the momentum going,” Popinga said. “But, I feel like we did pretty well.”

ORCS sophomore setter Eden Olson padded her stat line with 23 assists, seven digs, three kills and three aces.

The Knights accumulated 14 aces as a team. Folden led the way behind the service line with four aces, and Kendal Braun chipped in with three as well.

“We all work really hard in practice every day to keep our serves consistent and keep our percentages up,” Popinga said.

Nunziato added: “Our serving was much improved from last week. And then our offense was able to execute because of the hard work that our defense does to put up a perfect pass.”

Westhope/Newburg gradually improved its point total in each set. The Eagles’ attack was paced by Emmie Thompson (four kills), Jazmin Solis (four) and Ellie Braaten (three).

Braaten, a freshman setter, also had a team-high 10 assists and nine digs. And Thompson put up three blocks in her final high school volleyball game. Solis, another senior, also played her last match for the Eagles.

“I think nerves got the best of us at times,” Westhope/Newburg head coach Kyleen Kitzman said. “But, I told them to be proud. Each score between sets increasingly got better. That’s something to be proud of. I think this is just the start for us.”

The Eagles started the season 0-10 but ended the year on a relatively high note by winning four out of their last seven matches.

“We clearly fell a little bit short,” Kitzman said. “We aren’t as consistent with our offense and defense. And we kind of saw that throughout our season.”

The Knights move on and face District 12 foe Glenburn in the Region 6 Tournament semifinals at 7:30 p.m. this evening at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.