Rockets land short

On Thursday, Nov. 11, the Rockets traveled to the Devils Lake Sports Center to compete against the Benson County Wildcats in the third and fourth place bracket of the Region 4 Volleyball Tournament.

The Rockets defeated the Wildcats 3-2 in the regular season back on Sept. 28. This regional matchup ended completely opposite. The Rockets didn't have their best match against the Wildcats.

The first set started off slow, with the Rockets losing to the Wildcats 25-18. The Rockets came back in the second set to take the 25-14 win. The Wildcats clawed their way back in the third set to take down the Rockets 25-17. The Rockets and Wildcats went back and forth in the fourth set, for the Wildcats to take the 25-23 win.

Kills for the Rockets came from Kelsie Belquist with 12, Mya Cudwroth with nine, Madisen Myhre with six, Ava Peterson with four and Kaiya O'Connor with one. Desidy Schwanke and Jaylen Anderson were the top two hitters for the Wildcats, with 23 from Schwanke and ten from Anderson.

While Benson County had a total of zero blocks, the Rockets scored on nine blocks. Myhre led the Rockets with five, along with Belquist, who had two, and Macey Wobbema and Cudworth each with one.

Senior Wildcats' setter Hailey Maddock had a total of 40 assists. O'Connor held the most for the Rockets, with 28 assists. Delana Thomas, Myhre and Cudworth each had one assist.

Digs were big for both the Rockets and Wildcats. The Rockets had a total of 78 digs against the Wildcats, with 29 coming from senior libero, Kennedy Demester. Also in double digits for the Rockets were Belquist with 14 and Cudworth with 12. The Wildcats had a total of 53 digs. McKenna Tofsrud and Schwanke led the Wildcats, each with 21, and Anderson came in behind with 11.

Ten was the lucky number for aces. The Rockets and Wildcats each had ten aces. Demester held the most with seven, with the other three coming from Peterson, Cudworth and Belquist. Schwanke led the Wildcats with four, with Maddock and Anderson behind with three each.

The Rockets finished their season 8-2 in the region, and 25-10 overall. The Wildcats finished their season 7-3 in the region, and 17-7 overall.

To the six New Rockford-Sheyenne volleyball seniors – Alexa Holth, Delana Thomas, Macey Wobbema, Mya Cudworth, Maria Becker and Kennedy Demester – congratulations on your final season as a New Rockford-Sheyenne Rocket. Good luck in your future endeavors!

After the championship match between the North Star Bearcats and the Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich Cardinals, the Region 4 All-Region team was announced.

Belquist, Cudworth and Demester were the three athletes chosen from New Rockford-Sheyenne. For Benson County, Tofsrud and Schwanke were chosen. Congrats to all the athletes chosen for the All-Region team.

The Region 4 Senior Athlete of the Year was awarded to Danielle Hagler of the North Star Bearcats. The Region 4 Coach of the Year was awarded to Aubree Page, head coach of the North Star Bearcats. Congratulations to all!

Region 4 Volleyball Tournament

Thursday, Nov. 11

NR-S 1, Benson Co. 3

at Devils Lake Sports Center

NR-S 18 25 17 23

BC 25 14 25 25

NR-S Stats:

Kills: Belquist 12, Cudworth 9, Myhre 6, Peterson 4, O'Connor 1.

Blocks: Myhre 5, Belquist 2, Wobbema 1, Cudworth 1.

Assists: O'Connor 28, Myhre 1, Cudworth 1, Thomas 1.

Aces: Demester 7, Peterson 1, Cudworth 1, Belquist 1.

Digs: Demester 29, Belquist 14, Cudworth 12, Peterson 7, O'Connor 6, Thomas 5, Dockter 2, Myhre 2, Wobbema 1.

Benson Co. Stats:

Kills: Schwanke 23, Anderson 10.

Assists: Maddock 40.

Aces: Schwanke 4, Maddock 3, Anderson 3.

Digs: Tofsrud 21, Schwanke 21, Anderson 11.