Sports

Stars split with Ryan, Dunseith

By Matthew Semisch

09/16/2014

The Bottineau High volleyball team hasn’t enjoyed the results it wanted to at the start of the 2014 season, but the young Stars showed last week that they’re continuing to develop well as a team.

Their record on the season fell to 3-5 on Tuesday, though, when they lost in straight sets on the road against Minot Bishop Ryan.

The Lions coasted to 25-18 and 25-15 wins in the first two sets, and while Bottineau fought back in the third, Bishop Ryan ended the match by winning that last frame 25-21.

Bottineau setter Baylee Grenier posted 24 assists in the loss to the Lions, while outside hitters Stephanie Brenden and Paige Vad led the Stars in kills with 13 and 7, respectively.

Brenden also served six aces and libero Megan Fix came  through with seven digs.

Things went much better for the Stars on Thursday when they hosted Dunseith in Bottineau. That match also came and went in just three sets, but this time Bottineau came up victorious by winning 25-8, 25-22 and 25-10 over the visiting Lady Dragons.

Brenden had an even bigger night against Dunseith than she had in Minot two days prior. Against the Lady Dragons, Brenden posted 15 kills, three digs and 11 aces.

Speaking after Thursday’s match, Stars head coach Steve Dunrud said that while his team’s performance against the Lady Dragons wasn’t perfect, it showed how much the Stars have already improved this season.

“Before the game I told the girls to be aggressive but also be smart,” Dunrud said, “And I think they did a pretty good job of both.

“We were working on not letting the ball fall easily on our side and we did a pretty good job of that and it never hit our floor too often.”

Now 4-5 on the season, Bottineau will hope to get its record back to the .500 mark on Tuesday at home against Our Redeemer’s.

More than just racking up more wins, though, Dunrud also hopes to see his team’s cohesiveness continue to strengthen.

”This is all a learning experience for us, but as we gain that experience, I think you’ll see us keep playing better together, and that’s just one of those things that comes with time,” he said.

“The girls will have a better understanding out there of how they’re working and whose ball is this and whose ball is that and that sort of thing, and we’re defining those things as we go along and we’re defining who we are as a team, and I feel like we’re right where we should be right now.”