The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Braylee Keller makes a back row pass for the Hornets in their match with NR-S at the Region 4 Tournament in Devils Lake. Keller led HWC with 26 digs and three aces, and she also had nine kills.
Taylor Nelson goes up for a block attempt on NR-S' Ava Peterson.
Harvey-Wells County came out swinging to win the opening set, but New Rockford-Sheyenne stormed back to win the next three games and defeat HWC, 3-1, in the opening round of the Region 4 Volleyball Tournament held at the Devils Lake High School Sports Center on Monday, Nov. 11.
HWC got off to a fast start in game one, opening up a 9-4 lead with kills from Christalea Wagner, Kali Fike and Taylor Nelson. A 5-0 run from the Rockets on kills from Ava Peterson and Kaiya O'Connor tied the game at nine. Back-to-back kills from Rachel Neumiller sparked a 9-2 run for the Hornets, and two more kills from Wagner pushed HWC to a 25-20 game one victory.
The Hornets came out on fire again in the second game, starting with aces from Fike and Braylee Keller to take a 5-1 lead. The Rockets' Emmie Belquist, O'Connor and Peterson found their attack grooves after that point, as each recorded kills on NR-S' 10-2 run to take an 11-7 lead. The Rockets continued to build on their power game, with Belquist adding two more kills to push the lead to 18-11. Wagner recorded back-to-back kills late for HWC, but the Rockets went on to tie the match with a 25-16 set two victory.
HWC had an impressive start to the third set, opening up a quick 10-3 lead with Neumiller getting two kills and Nelson adding another. A service error from HWC helped turn the momentum the other direction, as NR-S would score seven straight to knot the game at 10 each. The set was tied three times after that point, but the Rockets would take advantage of two more HWC service errors and open up a 19-16 lead on a Belquist ace. HWC managed to cut the lead to 22-19 late, but Peterson secured three of her six set three kills down the stretch for the 25-22 Rocket win.
The Rocket momentum continued into the final set of the night, as NR-S took an early 9-3 lead. Peterson smashed down eight kills in the deciding game, and five came early on as the Rockets built a 16-8 lead. HWC would mount a great comeback with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to two at 16-14. Leading 18-16, the Rockets would get three more kills from Peterson and finish the set with a 7-3 advantage to seal the game, 25-19, and match, 3-1.
Peterson and Belquist led the Rockets at the net with 23 and 12 kills, respectively. Alivia Yri dished out 39 assists, but what was most notable was when the junior was serving, the Rockets scored consistently and often. Logan Cudworth had a fantastic defensive game with 35 digs, while Belquist added 26 more.
HWC was led by Neumiller with 10 kills and 24 digs, while Keller added nine kills and 26 digs and three aces. Fike dished out 28 assists, while Wagner chipped in with seven kills.
With the win, New Rockford-Sheyenne moved into the semifinals against Langdon Area/Munich Tuesday, Nov. 12, while the loss ended the season for HWC.
Region 4 Volleyball
Tournament, Devils Lake
Quarterfinals
NR-S 3, HWC 1
HWC 25 16 22 19 - 1
NR-S 20 25 25 25 - 3
HWC Individual Stats
Kills: Rachel Neumiller 10, Braylee Keller 9, Christalea Wagner 7, Kali Fike and Taylor Nelson 3, Maci Reutter 2, Brooklyn Dockter and Rylee Jones 1.
Assists: Fike 28, Keller and Wagner 2, Dockter 1.
Aces: Keller 3, Dockter, Fike and Wagner 1.
Blocks: Nelson 1.
Digs: Keller 26, Fike 24, Dockter and Neumiller 12, Wagner 10, Reutter 6, Jones and Nelson 5.
NR-S Individual Stats
Kills: Ava Peterson 23, Emmie Belquist 12, Kaiya O'Connor 7, Tillie Swart and Alivia Yri 2, Ava Bullinger, Jocee Lawrence and Kaci Weisenburger 1.
Assists: Yri 39, O'Connor 4, Belquist, Logan Cudworth and Peterson 2, Swart and Weisenburger 1.
Aces: Belquist and Bullinger 2, Cudworth, O'Connor and Peterson 1.
Blocks: O'Connor and Weisenburger 1.
Digs: Cudworth 35, Belquist 26, O'Connor 15, Peterson 14, Yri 12, Bullinger 1.
