Sports
Stars split with region opponents
Bottineau Courant Staff
09/17/2013
A loss at home to Bishop Ryan and a win in Kenmare this past week gave the Bottineau Stars a split against Region 6 opponents this past week.
The Stars began the week at home against one of the strongest teams in the region—the Bishop Ryan Lions.
However, Bottineau proved to be a worthy opponent throughout the match. It started early as both teams traded points early on in set one. However the Lions edged past the Stars 25-21.
Bishop Ryan used the momentum to win the second set 25-19, leaving the Stars one set loss away from a sweep loss at home.
But the Stars showed their resilience by using the crowd to their favor and getting a gritty 25-23 victory in set four.
Bottineau used the momentum to stymy the Lions in the fourth set and held a 23-19 lead late in the set. However, the Lions went on one final run to edge out a 25-23 fourth set win and a 3-1 match victory.
Stars junior Stephanie Brenden was a catalyst in the comeback effort as she finished with 12 kills and five blocks, both team-bests.
Karlee McCloud, a senior for the Stars, served well and finished with a team-high three aces. Seniors Bailey Neubuaer (37 assists) and Danielle McDonald (15 digs) also played strongly in the loss.
The Lions were led by the combo of Hannah Stewart (seven kills, three blocks) and Gabbie Bohl (10 blocks, five kills).
The Stars bounced back on Thursday as they went on the road to Kenmare and swept the Honkers.
Bottineau came out strong and took set one 25-17 and set two 25-19.
The Honkers fought back in the third set, but the Stars held them off and earned the sweep with a 28-26 victory in set three.
McCloud was again strong from the service line as she hit a season-best eight aces. McDonald had a team-best seven kills and senior Rachael Fix had a team-high nine digs. Brenden added five blocks and Neubauer had 21 assists in the win.
The victory was Bottineau’s sixth on the season.
Bottineau (6-3) will travel to Minot to take on the Our Redeemers Knights at 7:30 p.m. tonight for their next match.
The Knights bested the Stars in last year’s Region 6 title game.