Sports
Stars stay undefeated in district
Tyler Ohmann
10/15/2013
It was another successful week for the Bottineau Stars as they won two District 11 matches and finished runner-up in a tournament in Rolla.
The week began last Tuesday as the Stars swept the Sawyer Flashes in Bottineau.
The sets all went similarly as the Stars won 25-15, 25-14 and 25-14 by using the the arms of Stephanie Brenden and Danielle McDonald.
Brenden finished with team-bests in kills (eight) and aces (five). McDonald had seven kills and four aces. Junior Kennedy Olson came up big as well as she had two blocks.
The Stars took their show on the road on Thursday as they went to Rugby and took down the Panthers 3-1.
The win kept Bottineau undefeated in region play with one game remaining.
The Stars kicked things off right as they decimated the Panthers in the first set 25-10. Bottineau won set two 25-15 and looked to be on their way to another district sweep.
“The Stars came out with a purpose and really controlled the first two games,” stated Stars head coach Steve Dunrud
The Panthers had other plans as they took the third set 25-22.
“The Lady Panthers played with a lot of heart and desperation in the third game,” Dunrud stated. “We just dug too deep of a hole in the third game, but to our girls credit, we came back to make it close at the end.”
Bottineau took care of business in the fourth set though with a 25-16 win to head back to Bottineau with their sixth district victory.
“The momentum that we gained in the second half of game three carried over into the fourth game where the Stars started and finished strong to win the match,” Dunrud stated. “Our serving was a big key to the victory as we served 91 percent as a team with 20 aces on the evening.”
Getting six each of those aces were senior Bailey Neubauer as well as Brenden and McDonald.
McDonald had one of her best nights of the year in the win as she led the Stars with 16 kills and 13 digs. Brenden added three blocks and Neubauer dished out 35 assists in the win.
Bottineau had another successful run to a tournament title end in a hard-fought championship match as they went to play in the Rolla tournament last Saturday.
The Stars started the run in pool play as they went undefeated by sweeping Newburg-Westhope (25-17, 25-14) and St. John (25-13, 25-13).
Senior Courtney Gallagher stepped up in the matches as she had a team-high six aces in the two match victories. She also added 11 kills.
Bottineau had their hands full with Rolette-Wolford as the Comets took one 25-22 from the Stars, but Bottineau won the other 25-13 to earn the top spot of the pool.
Senior Rachael Fix took hold of the Stars service game in the split victory as she went 10-for-10 from the service line and also tied for a team-best six digs.
Bottineau took on their toughest test yet as they ran up against the host Rolla in the semifinals of the tournament round.
Though both teams played strongly in the contest, it was the Stars who edged out 25-23 and 26-24 victories to advance to the title game.
Neubauer was instrumental in the victory as she had team-highs in assists (20), digs (11) and aces (four). She was also 14-for-15 on serves and had two kills and a block.
Brenden added nine kills in the victory.
Much like the tournament that Bottineau hosted on Sept. 7, the North Star Bearcats and the Stars met in the championship match.
And similar to that match up it was the Bearcats who came out victorious.
The Stars and the Bearcats fought tooth and nail in the title game, and in set one North Star gained the edge late to earn a 25-23 victory.
Bottineau fought even harder to win in the second set, but again it was the Bearcats who emerged the victors with a 28-26 win.
Senior Karlee McCloud provided a strong match from the service line as she had six aces. McDonald was the leader on both offense and defense as she had seven digs and six kills.
Dunrud still believe that Bottineau played really well on the day, despite the championship loss.
“The Stars have a lot to be proud of as they all contributed throughout the day to a very successful tournament,” Dunrud stated.
Tournament total for the Stars included Neubauer (89 assists, 10 aces), Fix (30 digs), Brenden (32 kills, five blocks).
Bottineau (21-6 overall, 6-0 district) will play their final district match at 7 p.m. tonight in Velva.
The District 11 Tournament begins on Oct. 31 in Towner.