Alex Eisen/MDN Rugby junior middle hitter Brooke Blessum (7) puts down a kill Monday afternoon against Bishop Ryan in the first round of the Region 6 Tournament at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

Rugby junior middle hitter Brooke Blessum admitted she didn’t have a standout match by her standards, but she still finished with 18 kills to lead the Panthers to the Region 6 Tournament semifinals.

“It’s hard to get used to serving in a big, open gym,” Blessum said. “It’s different because there aren’t walls right at the end of the court. So, it makes the court seem a lot bigger.”

The District 11 top-seeded Panthers (30-4) used the opening set to get accustomed to the Minot Municipal Auditorium. After that, Rugby found its groove in a first-round regional sweep of District 12 No. 4-seeded Bishop Ryan (24-15) by set scores of 25-21, 25-13, 25-16.

“It’s the noise factor,” Rugby head coach Jessica Fritz said. “We are just so used to playing in a small gym. Our districts were up in Westhope in a smaller gym. You can hear everything… But, in this big gym, it’s just dead all the time it seems like. It’s like the noise gets lost. So, we have to be louder. We have to be communicating and get our fans excited.”

The Lions hung with and put pressure on the Panthers in the first set. Ryan led by as many as five points, 12-7, thanks to serving of junior Maddie Hedberg.

Rugby rallied and even the frame at 14-14. Last tied at 20-20, Blessum stepped up with a couple of kills and Ryan ended the set with two attack errors, 25-21.

“That first set was awesome,” Ryan head coach Nick Theis said. “Kind of thought that is what the whole match would look like… But the lack of experience of being here, and we got tight and nervous. Instead of taking a deep breath.”

Two more kills from Brooke Blessum and an ace by setter Sarah Blessum put Rugby up 3-0 to open the second set. Ryan called a timeout to regroup when the Panthers’ lead stretched out to 12-6.

The venom behind Brooke Blessum’s swing continued to cause more havoc than what the Lions’ defense could handle.

“She has kind of been our go-to girl all year,” Fritz said about Brooke Blessum. “She plays so well whether she is in the back or front (row). If we are making mistakes, then we can get her the ball and let her take control if we need to.”

The Panthers closed out the second set with a kill from Isabella McCabe and an ace from Brooke Anderson, 25-13. Anderson also added seven kills and a team-high 14 digs in the match.

Fritz turned to her bench and allowed some of the younger Panthers to get some regional tournament experience when Rugby started to pull away again in the third set.

Sarah Blessum stayed on the court to facilitate the offense. She finished with 27 assists and two aces. Senior Kelly Swanson provided three aces and seven digs.

The Lions were led by Sydney Upton with seven kills and two blocks. Hedberg added four kills and three aces. Junior Nora Kramer dug up a team-high 13 digs and setter senior Grace Candrian threw up 13 assists.

“I wish I could have them for two more years and their whole careers,” Theis said about his seniors. “They are just awesome leaders and really good kids. They make every day really fun.”

Rugby advances to the Region 6 Tournament semifinals against DLB at 6 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.