Sports
Bottineau earns District 11 title with win over Velva
Tyler Ohmann
11/05/2013
The Bottineau Stars affirmed their dominance over District 11 opponents this past week by breezing past the competition and winning the district title over Velva last night.
The win also exacted a bit of revenge against the Aggies, who upset the Stars in the title tilt last year.
Bottineau, who was the No. 1 seed in the tournament, began with an opening round sweep of eighth-seeded Sawyer. The Stars went on to down Rugby 3-2 in the second round and then swept Velva in the title game.
In round one the Stars took on the Flashes, and made quick work of them.
Bottineau jumped out to big leads in all the games, and in game three once led 14-2. They went on to win 25-10, 25-11 and 25-12 to advance on in the tournament.
Seniors Courtney Gallgaher and Danielle McDonald each had eight kills in the win, while Stephanie Brenden added six aces and Bailey Neubauer dished out 27 assists. Junior Kennedy Olson also provided a nice spark with six kills.
Myrena Denelsbeck and Olivia Tefelmeyer each had seven digs in the loss for Sawyer.
Bottineau advanced to the championship with a 3-2 victory over the fifth-seeded Rugby Panthers.
The Stars had a little trouble with the Panthers out of the gate as Rugby took the first two sets. The Panthers caught the top-seeded Stars off guard with a 25-19 win in the first set. Both teams battled hard in the second set, but the Panthers snuck away with a 27-25 win.
Bottineau righted the ship and found their rhythm from there on out though as they won the next three.
The Stars swung the momentum their way with a 25-19 win in the third set and from there they took over.
McDonald finished with 18 kills as the Stars won set four 25-17 and the deciding set 15-6.
“When we were down 0-2 in on Friday, it didn’t look good,” Stars head coach Steve Dunrud said. “But the girls showed a lot of resiliency, and it took a lot of guts and determination to come back.”
Brenden and Gallagher were also in double digits in kills with 14 and 12 respectively. Neubauer set well all night and finished with 43 assists. She also added a game-best and season-high nine ace serves in the win. Rachael Fix added 22 digs.
Last night the Stars then swept the Velva Aggies by scores of 25-11, 25-16 and 25-10 to earn the title of district champions.
“Being district champs was a goal for the girls since last year at districts,” Dunrud said. “We took second place in three tournaments this year, so getting a first is really big for them.”
Neubauer was really strong, especially from the service line for the Stars. She finished with seven aces and went 22-of-24 from the service line. She also added 23 assists.
“She did a really good job for us, especially from the service line,” Dunrud said of Neubauer. “Just by her getting 24 serves in during a quick, three-set match, shows how well she served.”
Brenden also played well leading Bottineau with 14 kills, and Karlee McCloud did a little of everything with four assists, five digs and two aces.
“All in all it was a great team effort,” Dunrud said of the win. “You couldn’t really ask for more, and it was fun to watch.”
The district tournament wasn’t the only thing on the plate for the Stars this past week. Bottineau closed out the regular season last Monday with a 3-1 win over a tough Langdon squad.
All four sets were close, but the Stars won sets two through four on their own floor on senior night.
“We celebrated the careers of our senior players as they played their last match in Bottineau,” Dunrud stated. “Bailey, Danielle, Courtney, Rachael and Karlee have contributed greatly to the Stars success not only this season, but throughout their careers.”
Langdon topped Bottineau 25-23 in set one, as they rallied from an early deficit. The Stars reversed the scores in set two with a 25-23 win over their own.
Bottineau went on to win the next two sets in dramatic fashion with a pair of extra-point victories. They won 28-26 in set three and 26-24 in the fourth and final set.
“The girls came out and really had a great night,” Dunrud stated. “After losing the first game, a game that we maybe should have won but had seven missed serves, the girls regrouped and really did a good job of finishing each game.”
McDonald had a huge night with 20 kills and 22 digs for the Stars. Neubauer eclipsed 40 assists with 42, and also added five blocks. Gallagher had a season-best 13 kills, and Fix added 24 digs in the win.
The four victories on the week pushed the Stars to 26-7 overall on the season, and completed a perfect sweep over district competition throughout the entire season.
Bottineau will not have an easy task heading into the Region 6 Tournament, however as three of their seven losses this season came to opponents they will have to face at regions in Minot.
The Stars will start by playing the fourth seed out of District 12 at 3 p.m. on Monday to kick off the region tournament. District 12’s tournament finishes up tonight.
Bottineau has had three straight runner-up finishes in the Region 6 Tournament. They have five seniors who start, and look to make another push to the championship.