Sports
Stars fall in District 11 title game against Velva
Bottineau Courant Staff (Photo by Tyler Ohmann)
10/30/2012
In a tough power struggle between the one and two seeds, the Bottineau Stars fell 3-1 to the second-seeded Velva Aggies last night in the District 11 tournament title game.
The Stars, no stranger to district championships games having won several in the past decade, including the previous two in a row could not make it three with the tough loss to the rival Aggies in Velva.
This year was a bit of a transition year for the Stars. They had a new coach in Steve Dunrud and were without familiar faces such as All-Region players Whitney Page, Heidi Artz and Ashleigh Aufforth.
Instead players like senior Katryna Hahn, junior Bailey Neubauuer and hitters Danielle McDonald and Courtney Gallagher filled roles for the Stars.
The tournament did begin well for the Stars though.
The top-ranked Stars easily handled the Dunseith Lady Dragons to kick off the tournament last Thursday.
Bottineau cruised with 25-12, 25-13 and 25-11 set victories in the sweep as Hahn slammed 16 kills in the easy win.
Bailey Neubauer provided the needed serve strength with nine aces, as well as 27 set-assists.
Next up for the Stars was rival Rugby. The fourth-seeded Panthers posed little challenge for the Stars in the match last Friday as again the Stars breezed past the competition in a three-set sweep.
In their strongest match against the Panthers in the past few seasons, the Stars’ game plan worked to perfection as they went up 2-0 with 25-11 and 25-12 wins in the first two sets.
In set three the Panthers closed the gap slightly, but it was Bottineau who came away with the sweep 25-18.
Neubauer again played strong with eight aces and 27 more set-assists. Hahn added 16 more kills and a team-best four blocks, while McDonald had nine digs and six kills.
The Stars closed out the district tournament last night with the runner-up finish to the host Velva Aggies.
A strong Stars’ squad squashed the Aggies in set one 25-17, but were unable to win another set as the Aggies used their home floor to their advantage.
With set wins of 25-16, 25-23 and 25-23, the Aggies brought home the District 11 title for 2012.
The win also solidified the top-spot in next weeks Region 6 contest in Minot.
Hahn and Neubauer were again strong in the contest for the Stars in the loss. The loss pushed the Stars season record to 22-13 overall.
Earlier in the week the Stars recorded their 12th loss of the season on Monday, Oct. 22 in Langdon.
The Cardinals established a lead early on with set wins of 25-17 and 25-14 in the first two sets. The Cardinals completed the sweep with a much closer 25-22 win in set three, but the Stars turned on the jets too late.
It was the second straight loss for Bottineau. Hahn had nine kills, two blocks and four aces in the loss.
Bottineau will face the third seed out of District 12 to kick off the Region 6 tournament on Nov. 5 in Minot.
The District 12 tournament wraps up tonight in Minot, and the Stars will face the third seed who emerges out of that tournament.
Towner-Granville-Upham defeated Drake-Anamoose in five sets and Rugby beat Sawyer in five-sets to advance to the Region 6 tournament as well on the evening.