Rockets outlast Thunder

Kyrie O'Connor | Sep 13, 2021

Kyrie O'Connor count

The New Rockford-Sheyenne bench cheers as the Rockets inch closer and closer to a win.

Kyrie O'Connor count

Setter Kaiya O'Connor sets up outside hitter Kelsie Belquist.

Kyrie O'Connor count

Middle hitter Madisen Myhre goes up to hit while M-P/B outside hitter Kelsey Vandeberghe and middle hitter Abigail Reich go up to block.

On Tuesday, Sept. 7, the Rockets traveled to Medina to take on the Thunder in their home gym. This match-up was initially set up to be the Rockets first home game of the season on Aug. 31, but was rescheduled for an away game due to the renovation of the New Rockford-Sheyenne gymnasium floor.

The first set of the night was a very close game. The Rockets pulled off the win 26-24. Both teams were fired up and weren't going to give up easily.

Medina-Pingree/Buchanan would take the second set 25-18, after a few errors from the Rockets. Between the many digs and kills from M-P/B, the Thunder would win the third set 25-22.

With losing the third set, a fire was lit under the Rockets. They came back in the fourth set to win 25-21. One more set to go. Hard work, determination and faith brought a Rocket win of 18-16 in the fifth set.

Kelsie Belquist held the most kills for the Rockets with a total of 14. Madisen Myhre was also in the double digits with 11 kills. For M-P/B, senior middle hitter Ryleigh Martin had the most kills with 14.

Kennedy Demester, Belquist, Mya Cudworth and Kaiya O'Connor all scored in the double digits with their digs. Demester held the most with 37, Belquist had 28, Cudworth had 27 and O'Connor had 11. Digs were big for Medina-Pingree/Buchanan. Emily Carlson held the most digs with 48. Also in double digits for the Thunder was Alaina Bosche with 44, Allison Thomas with 43, Lilly Bohl with 40, BriAllen Thu with 15, and Martin with 14.

The Rockets were on top of their blocks, literally. Senior Macey Wobbema led the Rockets with three blocks, with Myhre and O'Connor having two blocks each, and eighth grader Ava Peterson having one block. M-P/B had a total of six blocks between Abigail Reich, Maddie Gefroh and Martin, each with two.

The Thunder had many aces. The team had a total of 18 aces, whereas New Rockford-Sheyenne had five.

The seventh, eighth, c-squad and b-squad also played in Medina, with only the b-squad having a successful turnout. The seventh grade team lost both sets (25-19, 25-23). The eighth grade team also lost both of their sets (25-18, 25-12). The c-squad team played a total of three sets and lost (25-16, 25-14, 15-6). The b-squad team came out victorious after losing the first set 23-25, but came back in the second set to win 25-14, and in the third 15-13.

On the schedule for next week, the junior high team will travel to Devils Lake on Tuesday, Sept. 14, to take on the Firebirds at 4:30 p.m. On Thursday, the Rockets will head to Carrington to take on the rival Cardinals starting at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, the junior varsity team will be hosting a tournament in New Rockford, and the junior high team will travel to Harvey to compete in a tournament.

Non-Region Volleyball

Tuesday, Sept. 7

NR-S 3, M-P/B 2

at Medina

NR-S 26 18 22 25 18

M-P/B 24 25 25 21 16

NR-S Stats

Kills: Belquist 14, Myhre 11, Cudworth 8, O'Connor 6, Peterson 5, Wobbema 4.

Blocks: Wobbema 3, Myhre 2, O'Connor 2, Peterson 1.

Assists: O'Connor 35, Peterson 4, Demester 3, Cudworth 1, Myhre 1, Thomas 1.

Aces: Belquist 1, Cudworth 1, O'Connor 1, Myhre 1, Thomas 1.

Digs: Demester 37, Belquist 28, Cudworth 27, O'Connor 11, Thomas 7, Peterson 6, Wobbema 1, Myhre 1.