Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Cassie Longnecker, shown here receiving a serve, had 26 digs for the Rockets.
Kelsie Belquist and McKayla Waldo synchronize their jumps for a block attempt on Carrington's Lexus Page.
Dani Bjerke (right) had 40 assists for NR-S in the Carrington match.
On paper, it was a four-set defeat to their geographic rivals 16 miles to the south.
But New Rockford-Sheyenne showed at times that they can be every bit the team that historically-tough Carrington has shown over the past decade, if they can put all phases of their game together.
NR-S fought to extend the match after falling to a two-set deficit by besting the Cardinals, 25-18, in set three, but couldn't maintain that momentum and ultimately fell, 19-25, 21-25 and 16-25 in the other three sets.
The set victory marked the first time that the Rockets have taken a game against the Cards in a five-year span, and senior Chloe Heinz was a big part of that game and the match in general.
The left-handed Heinz used her southpaw wiles to full effect, hitting a good portion of her team-leading 14 kills in the third, and also paced NR-S with five aces. Her 17 digs were second only to libero Cassie Longnecker's 26 on the Rocket stat line.
Coach Sara Myhre's team showed good balance at the net in defeat. Kayahna Hopfauf hit for 12 kills, and used her athleticism to stifle the Carrington attack with seven stuff blocks. Mya Cudworth and freshman Kelsie Belquist added eight and seven kills, respectively.Setter Dani Bjerke finished with 40 assists for NR-S.
On Carrington's end, another lefty hitter was the top attacker. Breanna Mittleider's 12 kills were tops for the Cards, followed by 11 from Lexus Page. Sydnie Grager was just one kill away from double figures with nine, while adding four blocks, and Hannah Hagel also contributed seven. Tessa Page passed for 43 assists, and back row play featured Taryn Hoeckle's team-best 15 digs. Four other Cardinals hit the double-digit mark in digs as well.
Sophomore Haley Wolsky played a role in the win for Carrington with six kills and a team-best five blocks.
In preliminary matches, the Cards took three of the four wins, sweeping the JV match by a 2-0 score and getting 2-1 decisions in both the C-squad and eighth grade games. NR-S took a straight-set win in the seventh grade game.
Nondistrict Volleyball
Carrington 3, NR-S 1
at New Rockford
Thursday Sept. 17
Cgtn. 25 25 18 25 - 3
NR-S 19 21 25 16 - 1
NR-S Stats
Kills: Chloe Heinz 14, Kayahna Hopfauf 12, Mya Cudworth 8, Kelsie Belquist 7, McKayla Waldo 5, Dani Bjerke 1.
Assists: Bjerke 40, Belquist, Cudworth, Heinz, Hopfauf and Cassie Longnecker 1.
Aces: Heinz 5, Longnecker 2.
Blocks: Hopfauf 7, Bjerke 3, Belquist 2, Cudworth and Heinz 1.
Digs: Longnecker 26, Heinz 17, Kennedy Demester 14, Cudworth 9, Bjerke and Hopfauf 5, Belquist 1.
Carrington Stats
Kills: Breanna Mittleider 12, Lexus Page 11, Sydnie Grager 9, Hannah Hagel 7, Haley Wolsky 6, Tessa Page 1.
Assists: T. Page 43, Hagel 1.
Aces: Hagel 2, L. Page 1.
Blocks: Wolsky 5, Grager 4, L. Page 2, Hagel 1.
Digs: Taryn Hoeckle 15, Mittleider and L. Page 13, Hagel and T. Page 12, Grager 7, Wolsky 1.
Junior Varsity
Carrington 2, NR-S 0
(18-25, 21-25)
C-Squad
Carrington 2, NR-S 1
(16-25, 25-19, 12-15)
8th Grade
Carrington 2, NR-S 1
(22-25, 25-13, 5-15)
7th Grade
NR-S 2, Carrington 0
(25-19, 25-7)
