Adam Papin/MDN Members of the Berthold Bombers’ volleyball team celebrate winning a point during their comeback win over the Glenburn Panthers at the District 12 tournament in Minot on Monday. Down two sets to none, the Bombers rallied to win the match in five sets.

On Monday, the Our Redeemer’s Christian School Knights and the South Prairie-Max Royals showed why they entered the District 12 volleyball tournament as the top two seeds, as each team advanced to tonight’s championship match. With their semifinal victories, each team also secured bids to next week’s Region 6 tournament.

For the second consecutive year in a row, Our Redeemer’s faced off against Bishop Ryan at the district volleyball tournament and won, sweeping the Lions in three sets, 25-17, 25-8, 25-13.

Our Redeemer’s head coach Kara Nunziato commented after the match how proud she was of the team, both for their win and happy seeing how they took every opportunity they could to win and rise against the challenges in the match.

“Every time we step out onto that floor as a team we just make sure to stay grounded and stick to the game plan, making sure to commit to the positions that everyone’s been working hard tofine tune this season,” said coach Nunziato. “Bishop Ryan is a really scrappy team, defensively keeping balls off the floor and their offensive line has tall verticals, so we have to be patient along the net.”

The Knights advance to today’s District 12 championship with the win.

Despite being nervous, Knights’ setter Allison Francis is excited to play with her team.

“We know that whoever we play, either it’s going to be Des Lacs-Burlington or South Prairie, They’re going to bring their A-game and they want it just as bad as we do,” said Francis. “The mental game and the mindset are going to be a huge aspect, but they both bring great competition. We’re going to be excited to play whoever we get to play.”

Francis led the match with 34 assists for the Knights. She also completed one block and seven digs. Maya Vibeto and Leah Lindquist both paced the match with ten kills. Vibeto had three aces and Lindquist two.

Our Redeemer’s will face the No. 2 seed South Prairie-Max Royals who knocked off Des Lacs-Burlington, 25-18, 25-13, 21-25, 25-17 in a late match.

Azijah Trader paced the Royals with 25 kills and seven blocks, while teammate Benne Eberle had 46 assists. Tay Bearman led South Prairie-Max with 20 digs, followed by Izzy Hoffman’s 17. Trader finished with 16.

Shay Holen led the Lakers with 11 kills and three aces. She also paced Des Lacs-Burlington with 24 digs. Paige Berard and Kaylee Werner each finished with double-digit assists in the loss.

Down two sets to none, with their season on the line, the Berthold Bombers battled back to force a fifth set before downing the Glenburn Panthers to advance in the consolation bracket with a 23-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-8, 15-8 win.

“We came out a little uneasy, as we aren’t used to playing as early in the day as we did,” said Berthold head volleyball coach Lisa Bryantt. “We came in and watched a game that was slower, and so we just weren’t fully into that game mindset yet. I think after that second set we realized our seniors are out here and this could be our last game, so let’s go and let’s start now! We did not come out with communication right away tonight and we need to do that in tomorrow’s match.”

Mya Neshem led the match with 23 kills, followed by Kasey Simons with 15 and Aubree Schepp with five. Schepp also led the Bombers with three blocks. Elyssa Lindahl, Kasey Simons and Shayne Simons who each had one.

Ella Brown led the match in assists, completing 40 assists in total.

Kasey Simons led the match in aces with four, followed by Schepp and Neshem who each recorded two.

Berthold advances to play Bishop Ryan, with a trip to the Region 6 tournament on the line.

Melissa Dougan recorded her 1,000 assists during the Surrey Mustangs sweep of the Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood Mavericks, 25-18, 25-14, 25-21.

“It means a lot to me. It means a lot to my team,” said Dougan. “It just shows how much you put into it and you just have the nicest team around you.”

First year Surrey volleyball head coach Michaela Martin spoke about what Dougan has meant to the program.

“She has been a huge piece our program,” said Martin. “We’ve ran a five-one all year, and she’s really been the one to get the girls fired up when they need it. She’s a real quiet kid, but when she puts her mind to it, she’s loud.”

Adam Papin is the sports editor at the Minot Daily News. He can be reached at apapin@minotdailynews.com. Charles Wollschlager is a sports writer at the Minot Daily News. He can be reached at cwollschlager@minotdailynews.com.