Sports
Stars, Eagles clash in Newburg
Tyler Ohmann
10/01/2013
Once a year during the District 11 regular season the two teams within Bottineau County, the Bottineau Stars and the Newburg-Westhope Eagles, meet to decide who gets a district victory and county supremacy.
The Stars traveled to Newburg to try and sustain a long period of success in that match up last Tuesday evening.
Things went the way of the Stars early as they were able to out pass and out muscle the Eagles 25-12 and 25-14 to take the upper hand.
Newburg-Westhope did not give up though. They started strong in the third set, taking a 6-0 lead. Bottineau battled back, however, and both teams traded points late into the set.
The Stars leadership and experience helped them eek out the win 25-23 and sweep the Eagles on their home court. It was the first district match and win for the Stars.
“It was nice to start our district schedule with a quality win,” stated Stars head coach Steve Dunrud. “The girls came out with a lot of energy and really took control of the first two games, but you have to give the girls from Newburg-Westhope credit for playing hard and well in the third game.”
For the Eagles they hope the game was a bit of a reality check, that they can compete with anyone.
“My girls just need to realize that they can play with the top teams,” said Eagles coach Katie Fluhrer said. “I think they came out a little scared because it’s Bottineau, and Bottineau always brings a good team.”
“We just need to realize that we can play with teams if we just play our game,” Fluhrer added.
The win improved the Stars to 7-4 on the season and 1-0 in district play, while the Eagles dropped to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in district play.
Leaders for the Stars in the win were junior Stephanie Brenden, who had team-bests with four aces and two blocks, seniors Danielle McDonald (nine kills), Rachael Fix (nine digs) and Bailey Neubauer (20 assists, seven digs).
For the Eagles it was junior Paige Stratton, who helped, especially in the third game, as she finished with three kills and two blocks.
Senior Ashlyn Huber also played well in the loss, with a match-best 13 digs and also two aces. Junior Lauren Mach added three kills, two blocks and seven digs.
It was the only match for the Eagles on the week. Their next match will be at Towner-Granville-Upham in Towner tonight. They also play at home against Rugby on Thursday.