Sports

Eagles try to find roles on court to start season

By Tyler Ohmann

09/10/2013

It has been a busy and trying first week for the Newburg-Westhope (NW) Eagles as their volleyball team does their best to adjust after losing five seniors from last season.

“This is a brand new team from last year, because we lost like five seniors,” said second-year head coach Katie Fluhrer. “It’s a rebuilding year somewhat, but they do mesh well together they just need to figure out their individual roles out on the court.”

Things did begin well for the Eagles as they battled to a five-set victory over St. John in the season opener last Tuesday.

NW did their thing in the first set, earning a 25-18 win. The fun wouldn’t last long though as the Woodchucks won the next two sets 25-18 and 25-21.

The Eagles would bounce back to extend the match to a fifth and deciding set with a 25-19 win in set four.

In the final set it was the Eagles who would earn a 16-14 victory in a tightly contested game.

Junior Lauren Mach led all players with 11 kills and five blocks. Fellow junior Molly Lodoen had a team-best 23 set-assists and also six kills. Maddy Lodoen had five blocks and tied with senior Ashlyn Huber for a team-high 14 digs. Paige Stratton added five aces for the Eagles in the win.

The Eagles were unable to use the momentum from Tuesday’s opening game win though as they fell in straight sets in their next match last Thursday in Surrey.

The Mustangs came out firing and won set one 25-15. NW played hard in the second set, but it was again Surrey maintaining the advantage with a 25-22 victory.

Surrey shut out the Eagles with a 25-18 third set win.
Passing was an issue in the match according to Fluhrer. This was evidenced by Surrey’s Lacey Walker, who had seven aces. Kali Miller added five more aces for the Mustangs.

“We needed to focus on the little fundamental things,” Fluhrer said. “We kind of lost sight of that, so we just need to remember, butts down, you gotta pass the ball before anything else.”

Molly Lodoen had 10 assists and 12 digs to lead the Eagles in the loss.

With that on their minds the Eagles tried to focus on Saturday’s Bottineau Early Bird Tournament.

The Eagles were in a pool with Glenburn and North Star in the 12-team tournament.

NW took to the court against the Glenburn Panthers in the opening match, which was two sets. The Panthers took both sets in convincing fashion with 25-17 and 25-16 wins.

Teams who won both sets in a match earned three points; win one and lose one, but have more points than an opponent nets two points; win one and lose one and have less points, nets one point; two losses gets zero points.

The Eagles would not earn a point as they were again swept in their second match against the North Star Bearcats, who would go on to win the tournament.

The Eagles held tough against the Bearcats in a 25-19 set one loss. However, North Star found their rhythm in set two with a 25-12 win.

Zero points earned in pool play set the Eagles up for a match against Wilton-Wing in the first round of the tournament portion of the day.
NW fought the first set to earn a 27-25 victory in a close and back-and-forth game. Things were shaping up to be another exciting one in set two. However, midway through the set the Eagles lost momentum and the Miners won 25-15, forcing a third and decisive set.

Once again both teams tightened up and the match came down to the wire. In the end Wilton-Wing pulled out a 15-13 win, which helped propel them to a sixth place finish.

An issue that occurred throughout the day for NW was lack of communication. Something that Fluhrer said usually isn’t a problem.

“We’re definitely going to have to talk, making sure the setter gets the second hit, nothing else and getting out of her way,” Fluhrer said. “Talking was a big issue today, and usually it isn’t.”

The loss put the Eagles in the consolation side of the bracket, where they would get a chance at revenge against Surrey.

NW played tough with the Mustangs in their second meeting of the week, but once again Surrey earned the win. The Mustangs won both games 25-21 and 25-19 to play for a chance at ninth place.

The losses in the tournament put the Eagles overall record to 1-5 on the young season.

Fluhrer said the Eagles will have to go back to the beginning and work on some more fundamentals before they can move forward.

“We need to work on a little bit of everything right now,” Fluhrer said. “We need to go back to the fundamentals, because we’re losing sight of them.”

“We didn’t pass good at all today. We need to go back to passing and then work from there,” Fluhrer added.

NW plays their first home match at 7:15 p.m. tonight against Rolla. The Eagles play another tournament on Saturday in Glenburn.