Nathan Beitler/MDN Sophomore Elli Laskowski and the Minot North volleyball team won a play-in match for the second consecutive season and will play top-seeded Bismarck Century in the WDA Tournament quarterfinal round on Thursday, Nov. 13, in Mandan.

One of these postseasons, Minot North and coach Kari Francis are hoping to be on the couch during the play-in round of the WDA Tournament awaiting their quarterfinal opponent along with the other five teams instead of being one of the four playing for their playoff lives.

For the first two years as a varsity program, that hasn’t been the case for the Sentinels, but the good news is that they are undefeated in the play-in round and have been among the final eight teams in the regional field.

Last season, the Sentinels won their first postseason match in program history with a sweep of former Class AA member Watford City. This year, they eliminated Bismarck St. Mary’s, dropping the opening set before rallying for a four-set victory to earn the No. 8 seed in the WDA Tournament, which begins on Thursday, Nov. 13, in Mandan.

“Those play-in games are tough,” Francis said. “We’ve now played two in two years. Thankfully we’ve been on the positive side of both games, but they are pretty stressful. We are excited because we get two games guaranteed so it’s nice to know we have at least a little bit of season left.”

Minot North is hoping to have more success in the tournament compared to last year, when it lost both its quarterfinal match to Minot High in straight sets and Jamestown in the consolation round in four sets. It won’t be easy, as the Sentinels match up with No. 1 seed and defending state champion Bismarck Century in the quarterfinal round. The Patriots have won the past 11 WDA Tournaments and dropped just seven sets in 18 conference matches this season. Minot North was one of four WDA teams to take at least one set from the Patriots during the regular season.

“Century is a really great team and is obviously shown to be dominant for more than a decade, but we’re just hoping to compete, keep them honest and give them a run for their money and see what happens,” Francis said. “This WDA is going to be pretty wide open. Century does have a pretty good chance to make it to state. Their record speaks for itself, but I will say anything after that is anybody’s guess. Everybody at times has beaten other teams, they’ve split and we’re just hoping to be in that mix and playing our best volleyball when it matters.”

Minot North finished 6-12 in conference play, but won sets against every WDA opponent besides Bismarck High. The Sentinels’ got off to a slow start in conference, dropping six of their first seven matches. They finished the season strong and head into the quarterfinals winners of four of their last five.

“It’s been a little up and down,” Francis said. “We were hoping to not have to be in the play-in game, but at the same time the reality of the situation is that everybody’s good and it wasn’t the path we thought we were going to take, but at the end, we’re still in the discussion. We still have every opportunity ahead of us and that’s all you could ever ask for. It has been a little up and down and sometimes we didn’t perform the way we had hoped, but it’s not about the day to day; it’s about the end goal and how we’ve performed throughout the season and how we’ve worked and stayed together even when things weren’t easy.”

Senior middle hitter Aven Kelly led the team in kills and blocks in conference play, recording 178 kills and 46 blocks. Her 46 blocks were tied for fifth-most in the WDA and 26 more than Evelyn Jessen, who was second on the team with 20. Kelly became the first college signee in the volleyball program’s history, committing to play for Bismarck State College beginning in the fall.

Elli Laskowski (173) and McKinnley Kragh (152) also recorded more than 100 kills. Kate Weishaar led the defensive effort with 299 digs, while Brynn Francis contributed 228. Francis led the team in assists from the setter position with 465 and served up a team-high 21 aces.

“It’s always hard to pin it on one with the dynamics of volleyball, but I would say our middle play has been great with Aven Kelly,” Francis said. “She’s the first signee with volleyball and has a lot of great things ahead of her and has proven to be working very hard and wanting more. Evelyn Jessen provides a lot of positivity. Brynne Francis has been steady for us as a setter and a hitter and a blocker. Volleyball is a team sport, so it’s hard to find the one person. It truly does rely on everybody to pass, to set, to block, to play defense.”

The Sentinels were the No. 6 seed last season in the 12-team WDA after an 11-11 conference record. As the No. 8 seed in the now-10-team WDA, Minot North can’t help but feel like a bit of an underdog, especially with their short history in the WDA.

“We kind of have been since we’re the new kids on the block,” Francis said. “We haven’t been around for very long. This is only our second year as a varsity program and we don’t have years of history or lineage to fall back on. We’re still kind of making our own way and trying to figure out what our road is and it’s been great to see that we are one of the top few teams in the WDA playing at this point.”

Underdog or not, if the regular season has shown Francis one thing above all else, it’s that anybody can win on any given night.

“It was a dogfight each and every night,” Francis said. “At times it felt like you continuously got hit over and over again home and away. The games and the competition are really quality volleyball. It’s fast and we are just hoping we can come out on the positive side, but it shows the parity the WDA has and how balanced it is and how volleyball has come a long way.”