Kari Gibb/MDN Minot High senior Leah Walter (11) punches the ball past Bismarck High sophomore Jensen Hintz (10) at the net in WDA action on Thursday, October 3, at Minot High School.

The 2024 volleyball season is at the halfway point in the Western Dakota Association (WDA) regular season of play. Teams have established a pecking order in the current WDA standings and will use the rest of the season to firmly establish themselves or fight to make improvements in those seeding slots for the post season of play.

One such matchup happened at Minot High on Thursday, October 3, between two WDA teams vying for top seeding.

Bismarck High, second in the WDA standings, made the trip to face Minot High, third in the WDA standings, going into the game.

The outcome seemed sure after two frames then went to five before the Majettes won the encounter 25-21, 25-17, 13-25, 22-25 and 15-13.

Minot High was led by Kynsli Gillmore with 14 kills at the net. Leah Walter added 12 kills and one block at the net. Jayda Schall added 11 kills and a pair of digs. Eve Knutson added seven kills in the effort.

Mackenzie Dufner- who eclipsed 1,000 career assists last week, added 49 to go with her four kills and eight digs in the win. Sydney Aberle posted nine kills at the net with one block.

Terrel Reagan recorded 20 digs while Everette Deschamp had 16 and Nicole Couture tallied 13 on the night. Mya Bogden also had eight digs in the game.

The game resulted in very few blocks at the net as both teams were able to direct ball trajectory well enough to avoid straight shots into defenders. The amount of digs for the Majettes showcased the determination to keep the ball in play with continued volleys.

With the win, Minot High (10-1, 11-6) edged into second place while Bismarck High (10-2, 12-6) switched into third place in the WDA standings. Both teams trail Bismarck Century (11-0, 15-2) atop the standings list.

The Majettes travel to face Bismarck Century on Tuesday, October 8, for their next WDA competition and then head to Jamestown on Thursday, October 10 to finish the week.

Mandan 3, Minot North 1

The Sentinels traveled to Mandan and the hosts took the WDA match in four frames. Minot North travels to Bismarck to face the Demons on Tuesday, October 8, followed by a repeat trip to Bismarck to face Legacy on Thursday, October 10, next week.