Sports

Honkers shoot down the Stars

By Tyler Ohmann

11/15/2011

Everything appeared to be clicking for the Bottineau Stars, they won the District 12 championship, they got revenge over Our Redeemer’s in the Region 6 semi finals, they blew out rival Kenmare 25-15 in the first game of the region championship, but one close game can change everything.

The Stars were unable to continue their momentum in game two of the title match against the Honkers last Thursday in Minot, and they fell 26-24, and so did their momentum.

“I definitely feel like we were peaking at the right time, and I was looking forward to that going into this match,” Bullinger said. “Especially that first game, which was how I expected to play. I wish we could have held it for a little big longer, but it is what it is.”

The Honkers extinguished the Stars in the title game for the second straight season as they won games three (25-22) and four (25-12) to end Bottineau’s season as runner-up for the second consecutive year.

The loss of momentum all goes back to game two.

“I think it would have been different if we would have beaten them the second game,” said Bottineau Senior Whitney Page. “But they got us down, and kicked our butts.”

The Stars trailed by as much as eight in the second game, but managed to tie it at 24 with a strong run. But two consecutive Kenmare points put the Stars away.

“We came out so hot, and were really excited about it,” Page added. “It was difficult though, but we pushed through it, and it was hard to end this way, but that’s life.”

Bullinger was happy with the effort, but was sad to see the state berth slip away.

“I think that we played really well, and I wish would have been able to continue the momentum we had in the first, second and even the third game,” Bullinger said. “Five seniors that didn’t want to lose, that’s a lot of pressure and it starts to get a little heavy on those shoulders.”

Page was the team leader for Bottineau in the match, and led the Stars with 12 kills and three blocks.

The Honkers were led by a trio of hitters, senior Ashley Barnhart had 16 kills, while Halie and Katie Nelson had 15 and 14 kills respectively.
Senior Trista Bjerk had a season high 10 kills in the loss. She also had two aces.

“We worked so hard all season,” Page said. “Today we were calm, confident and we knew we could do it, but they are a good volleyball team.”

The Stars came into the championship with momentum abound as they beat Our Redeemer’s Christian School 3-1 Tuesday night in the semifinals. The Stars were previously swept by the Knights on Sept. 15.

Bottineau started strong Tuesday with a pair of 25-21 wins to build a 2-0 lead. They faltered slightly in game three, falling 25-13, but finished strong with a 25-16 win to advance to Thursday’s final.

The Stars received some help from a slightly unexpected place as Katryna Hahn stepped up with a spectacular game. The junior led the team with 10 kills and five blocks.

They also received their regular production from their talented seniors.
The trio of All-Region players from the Stars shone in the victory. Heidi Artz led the Stars with 23 digs. Ashleigh Aufforth had 34 set-assists, and Page contributed with nine kills and 20 digs.

The Knights were led by Ashley Koppinger who had 17 kills, four aces, three blocks and 24 digs all team-highs.

Bottineau Stars get three on All-Region squad

Following the loss to Kenmare for three Bottineau Stars were awarded spots on the All-Region 6 tournament team.

Seniors Heidi Artz, Ashleigh Aufforth and Whitney Page were all honored with the distinction. It was the second consecutive year Artz and Page were dubbed with the honor.

Aufforth got her 1,000 career assists earlier in the season, while Artz got her 1,000th dig on Monday in the opening round of the tournament.
Page finished the tournament with 34 kills and seven blocks, and was also named Region 6 Senior Athlete of the Year.

“I’m really proud of my team in general, they are class acts on and off the court,” Bullinger said. “I’m pretty blessed to have been able to coach them, especially the seniors.”

The Stars completed the season with a record of 29-10. They will lose six seniors from this year’s squad: the All-Region selections in Artz, Aufforth and Page, as well as Mikayla Hahn, Trista Bjerk and Laney St. Claire.

Aufforth broke the school record for set-assists with 824, she also had 251 digs. She finished with 1561 career set-assists.

Artz broke the school record with 508 digs. She finished with 1,053 career digs.

Page had a team-high 353 kills and 91 blocks, she also had 239 digs.
Kenmare will advance to take on the Region 3 winner, Linton-HMB, at the Class B State Tournament which will be held at the Fargo Dome beginning on Nov. 17.

“I hope Kenmare takes it now,” Bullinger said. “If they beat us, I want them to beat everyone.”