Sports
Eagles start season
Tyler Ohmann
08/28/2012
The Newburg-Westhope Eagles volleyball team didn’t find too many wins this past weekend as they went 1-5 in matches at the Bottineau Early Bird Tournament, but what they did find out is what they need to fix to get those wins.
“We learned that we need to work on the basic things, the little things,” said Eagles coach Kaitie Fluhrer. “Getting back to cover, concentrating on our serving.”
“Overall we played well as a team, it’s just those little fundamental things that we need to work on a little more,” Fluhrer added.
The Eagles were in nearly every match they played, and played better as the tournament wore on.
“We learned a lot, we now know what we have to do in practice, and what to fix,” said senior hitter Bailey Tofteland. “We had close games, we just didn’t come away with them.”
The Eagles opened their tournament with a straight set loss to the Bottineau Stars, falling 25-11 and 25-16, but rebounded after that.
In their second match the Eagles downed Tioga in straight sets 25-12 and 25-20. They continued playing well as they were narrowly defeated by Rugby in straight sets 25-23, 25-20 in their third match of the day.
Glenburn was their next opponent and after suffering a 25-10 loss in set one, bounced back to get a 25-20 win in the second set.
In their final pool play the Eagles fell 2-0 to the eventual champions Harvey-Wells County 25-10, 25-22. However, that match and the others helped them learn what they need to do to win.
“We all kind of tell each other what we are doing wrong,” Tofteland said. “We have to work on our covering and passing, and keeping up our spirits, cheering.”
After two weeks of practicing against each other, Fluhrer was happy with the opportunity to see what the Eagles can do in a game.
“It’s hard to go two weeks in practice and not get a game-like feel,” Fluhrer said. “Overall I was pleased, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but they worked hard. It was a long day, long tournament, but it’s just nice to know the things we need to work on.”
The Eagles closed out their tournament with a straight set loss to Surrey in the game for ninth place. Despite rallying in both sets to get lead, they fell 25-21 in both sets to the Mustangs.
After all was said and done it was a long day for the Eagles, and Tofteland said despite the long day, in the end it was all worth it.
“It was very tough, game after game after game, especially when you don’t have a break,” Tofteland said. “In the end it is fun, and worth it.”
The Eagles open their regular season at 7 p.m. tonight in Westhope as they host St. John. They play again at home on Thursday as they host Surrey in a rematch of sorts in Newburg.