Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
McKayla Waldo (right) tips the ball over the net against Nelson County Monday, as Kelsie Belquist (left) braces herself to avoid contacting Waldo.
Dani Bjerke, pictured with NR-S Head Coach Sara Myhre, was recognized for earning her 1,000th career assist last Monday night.
What New Rockford-Sheyenne's volleyball team went through to get their conference games in the books was akin to cramming for end-of-semester exams, minus the procrastination excuse.
The team's two-week absence from the court due to COVID-19 quarantine precautions backloaded the Rockets' schedule to the point that they were forced to play four Super Region 4 matches in a six-day timeframe.
And once the dust cleared, NR-S was a tougher team for it.
Coach Sara Myhre's club won an emotional five-set match over Rolla on Thursday, October 29, and followed that up with a sweep against Benson County the next evening and another win at the expense of Nelson County on the other side of the weekend.
The Rockets and Bulldogs (6-2 record in region play entering the NR-S match), along with the Wildcats (5-3), were trying to jostle for the most advantageous position among the top five seeds into the start of regional tournament games.
Match one went back-and-forth, with the two teams splitting the first four sets as the first and third games went to Rolla (25-22 and 25-19) and the second and fourth to NR-S (25-18 and 25-21). The Rockets got all the momentum in the fifth set, and were never challenged in a 15-4 rout to close the proceedings.
Kayahna Hopfauf had 19 kills and seven blocks to lead NR-S, while Chloe Heinz contributed 11 kills of her own and was the back row leader with 25 digs.
Mya Cudworth had 22 digs to go along with seven kills, and Dani Bjerke had 37 assists. Serving was dominated by the seven-ace showing by Kennedy Demester.
The Rockets then put their focus on Benson County, which was arguably the team in the region most adversely affected by COVID-19, at least in a competitive sense.
The Wildcats were out of action for a 19-day period in October and had a 7-1 overall record before the pandemic hit. Since then, BC has lost three of their last five matches.
In the game, which NR-S took by scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 27-25, Hopfauf posted nine kills and four blocks, and Cassie Longnecker led the way with 29 digs. Bjerke had 29 assists from the setter position, and Cudworth added four aces.
Last Monday, the Nelson County Chargers came to the NR-S Gym, and fared no better than the Rockets' previous two opponents in a three-set sweep, 25-7, 25-11 and 25-17.
Hopfauf's 12 kills and three blocks again carried the day, followed by nine kills for Heinz.
Demester's jump serve led to five aces, while Bjerke had 27 assists, including the 1,000th of her long career early in the first set.
Longnecker finished with 17 digs in the win over the Chargers for NR-S.
To finish their end-of-the-season gauntlet, the Rockets completed their match with the North Star Bearcats this past Tuesday, which was originally set for October 13 and postponed for quarantine purposes.
The Bearcats would end NR-S' four-match winning streak with a 3-0 (19-25, 20-25, 15-25) defeat over the Rockets. Stats from that match will be published in the November 16 edition of the Transcript.
The loss means that the Rockets, the #3 seed, will host sixth-seeded HWC this upcoming Tuesday night, November 10, in the first round of Region 4 Tournament action.
Super Region 4 Volleyball
NR-S 3, Rolla 2
Thursday, October 29
at New Rockford
Rolla 25 18 25 21 4 - 2
NR-S 22 25 19 25 15 - 3
NR-S Stats
Kills: Kayahna Hopfauf 19, Chloe Heinz 11, Mya Cudworth 7, Kelsie Belquist, Dani Bjerke and McKayla Waldo 4.
Assists: Bjerke 37, Heinz 3, Cudworth, Kennedy Demester and Cassie Longnecker 2.
Aces: Demester 7, Hopfauf 3, Bjerke 2, Cudworth 1.
Blocks: Hopfauf 7, Bjerke 5, Cudworth and Waldo 3, Belquist 2.
Digs: Heinz 25, Cudworth 22, Longnecker 21, Demester 18, Bjerke 17, Belquist 6, Hopfauf 5, Waldo 1.
Junior Varsity
NR-S 2, Rolla 0
(25-23, 25-22)
C-Squad
NR-S 2, Rolla 0
(25-15, 25-9)
NR-S 3, Benson Co. 0
Friday, October 30
at New Rockford
BC 22 20 25 - 0
NR-S 25 25 27 - 3
NR-S Stats
Kills: Hopfauf 9, Belquist 8, Heinz 7, Cudworth 4, Waldo 3, Longnecker 1.
Aces: Cudworth 4, Demester 2, Heinz 1.
Assists: Bjerke 29, Belquist 2.
Blocks: Hopfauf 4, Belquist 2, Cudworth 1.
Digs: Longnecker 29, Cudworth and Heinz 8, Demester 7, Belquist 5, Hopfauf and Waldo 1.
Junior Varsity
NR-S 2, Benson Co. 0
(25-10, 25-8)
C-Squad
NR-S 2, Rolla 0
(25-16, 25-8)
NR-S 3, Nelson Co. 0
Monday, November 2
at New Rockford
NC 7 11 17 - 0
NR-S 25 25 25 - 3
NR-S Stats
Kills: Hopfauf 12, Heinz 9, Belquist 5, Cudworth 3, Bjerke, Madisen Myhre and Waldo 2.
Aces: Demester 5, Cudworth and Longnecker 2, Hopfauf 1.
Assists: Bjerke 27, Cudworth and Hopfauf 2, Demester, Heinz, Longnecker and Waldo 1.
Blocks: Hopfauf 3, Demester and Myhre 1.
Digs: Longnecker 17, Cudworth 11, Demester 9, Bjerke 6, Hopfauf 4, Belquist 1.
Junior Varsity
NR-S 2, Nelson Co. 0
(25-6, 25-10)
C-Squad
Nelson Co. 2, NR-S 1
(25-14, 23-25, 15-17)
8th Grade
Nelson Co. 2, NR-S 1
(16-25, 25-23, 3-15)
7th Grade
NR-S 2, Nelson Co. 0
(25-18, 25-7)
Congratulations to the 7th grade team, who finished undefeated this year!
