Mike Kraft/MDN The Our Redeemer’s Christian School volleyball team celebrates after winning the Region 3 Tournament in four sets over Trenton on Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Minot Municipal Auditorium, clinching a spot at next week’s state tournament.

On her 17th birthday, Our Redeemer’s junior middle hitter Lauren Strom wished for one thing above all else: a trip to the state tournament.

Her wish came true, as the Knights are heading back to the state tournament for the 12th time in school history after defeating Trenton in four sets, 26-24, 25-27, 25-13, 25-12, in the Class B Region 3 championship match on Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Minot Municipal Auditorium. Strom finished with 10 kills and a team-high three blocks as she will make her first trip to the state tournament as a member of the team.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little girl in the stands and it’s a dream come true to be here,” Strom said.

After a pair of close sets split between the two teams, the Knights took control of both the third and fourth set to avoid having to play in a state-qualifying match on Saturday in Bismarck. The Knights never trailed in the third set, jumping out to an 11-3 advantage. Ellie Streyle, Brooklynn Roedocker, Grace Olson and Noel Pankratz all contributed to the offense early in the set before Roedocker and Strom dominated the latter half of the frame. Roedocker had five kills and Strom had a pair of kills and a block to put the Knights within a set of yet another region title.

“I am so proud of their mental toughness and their resiliency,” Our Redeemer’s coach Kara Nunziato said. “We’ve talked before about how there are many ways to win a volleyball match and it doesn’t have to be 3-0. That’s why they give you best three out of five. I was really excited these girls came in and battled and Trenton is just an incredibly scrappy team.”

The fourth set belonged to Roedocker, as she put down shot after shot to help keep the Tigers from forcing a potential fifth-set tiebreaker. The senior middle hitter recorded seven of her match-high 22 kills in the fourth.

“It’s a whole team effort but Brooklynn really did a nice job putting some pace on that ball and it just allowed everyone else to match her level of play tonight,” Nunziato said.

Trenton still kept it close despite Roedocker’s performance, trailing just 12-9 midway through the set. But the Knights broke the set open from there, going on an 8-1 run to put some distance between them and the Tigers.

Fittingly, the final two kills of the region tournament were provided by the birthday girl to set up match point, and she was on court when the final point was earned to send the Knights to the state tournament and make her birthday wish come true.

“I feel like in our past championship game against Glenburn we didn’t really bring the energy we wanted to,” Strom said. “When we played Surrey, we really made sure that we brought the energy and we kept it throughout this game.”

While the Knights controlled the final two sets, the first two sets couldn’t have been closer, both requiring a little extra volleyball. Trenton battled back from an early 8-3 deficit to grab a 15-13 advantage. After a little back and forth, the Tigers grabbed a 21-18 and eventually had set point at 24-22.

With their backs to the wall, the Knights responded with four answered points to come back and win the opening set. Kadyn Braun pulled Our Redeemer’s even at 24 and a block from Roedocker gave the Knights set point, which they won on the ensuing rally after Trenton was called for a net violation.

The Tigers shook off the sting of the opening-set loss and took a 16-11 lead in the second. But the Knights rallied late and when trailing 23-20, they tallied four unanswered points to give them set point. This time, Trenton came back, getting a net violation to square the set and taking the lead on a kill from Cordelia Urbaniak. Streyle kept the set going briefly with a kill, but kills from Elliot Slater and Urbaniak gave the Tigers the second set and squared the match.

The region might have had a new number attached to it and the opponent may have been someone less familiar, but the feeling of winning a regional championship and earning a spot at the state tournament is always a special feeling for the Knights.

“Every single time you have an opportunity to play in a championship moment and come out on this side with a new team, it’s just the best feeling,” Nunziato said. “I’m just so proud of them and how they handled the competitive game that Trenton brought tonight. Very excited for these girls and the hard work they put into this season.”

Ellie Streyle finished with a match-high 39 digs to lead the defensive effort and Grace Olson dished out 42 assists.

Olson and Roedocker were named to the all-region team.

To further celebrate her birthday and the regional title, Strom will celebrate the way most teenagers would: grabbing some pizza at Planet Pizza with her teammates.

“The best way to celebrate is with my friends and the people that I love the most,” Strom said.