Oct 03, 2008 - 04:05:25 CDT
The two A's - athleticism and aggressiveness - can take a team a long way. Add a C - confidence - and you've got the entire package.That was the Century volleyball team Thursday night. The Patriots were hitting on all cylinders in a 3-1 West Region victory over Bismarck High at the BHSKarlgaard gym.
Scores were 25-13, 25-7, 23-25, 25-17.
"I was really surprised it wasn't a closer match," said Century hitter Tricia Sorensen, a 6-foot senior. "... We played really well. ... Our back row passed well, Hailee (Walsh) was setting well and it all clicked."
Things certainly clicked for Sorensen, who had seven aces to go with eight kills and five digs.
Century, serving aggressively, had 10 service errors. But the payoff was 18 aces.
"We've been working on our serving a lot,"Sorensen said. "Ihaven't served much ... because of my shoulder problems but its feeling better this year."
Sorensen's serving was hampered by a rotator cuff injury suffered last volleyball season.
Thursday's matchup was the first clash between the long-time archrivals, who stand 1-2 in the West Region. Century entered the game undefeated in five regional matches. Bismarck stood 7-1.
CHScoach Jeni Walsh said there was something else at stake in addition to the rivalry and the top spot in the region.
"We had a nice tournament in Dickinson last week ... and I'm glad to see it carried over," Walsh said. "... Erika (Jossart) has been passing solidly from the libero position, Hailee (Walsh) has been making good decisions (at setter) and our hitters are really athletic and have been flying around the net."
While they were flying, CHShitters Carli Peterson, MadiBuck and Sorensen pounded out 14, 14 and eight kills, respectively.
Century's won the first two games decisively, 25-13 and 25-7.
The first game was knotted 7-7 when the Patriots took control with a 9-3 run that included two blocks and kill byPeterson, a six-foot junior hitter. Then six-foot junior hitter MadiBuck contributed two kills to a six-point run that put CHSin charge 22-11.
Century exploded out of the blocks in the second game, opening a 14-3 lead behind three kills by Sorensen and two aces by Buck.
Five-foot-nine junior hitter Annie Assel led the way with four kills and a block as Bismarck came alive in the tightly-contested third game. Neither team led by more than three and BHSbroke a 23-23 tie by scoring the final two points.
Bismarck was unable to build on the third-game success, however.SevenBHSerrors coupled with three kills by Peterson enabled Century to jump ahead 18-3 in the fourth game.
Assel had four kills as Bismarck battled back with a 6-1 run, but the Demons got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Bismarck coach Lisa Krom was impressed with the way Century refused to buckle after losing the third game.
"This is such a game of momentum and enthusiasm," Krom noted. "When you come out and rattle off a few right away that confidence comes right back."
Sorensen said the talk in the CHShuddle before the fourth game dealt with mistakes.
"The third game we had a lot of errors. ... We tried to keep our emotions in check and play low-error volleyball (in the fourth game)," she said.
Walsh said regaining focus was her theme prior to the fourth game. "Bismarck deserved that third game. ... They played very well and caught us back on our heels. We had a lot of unforced errors in the third game," she said. "But I was very happy with the way we responded in the fourth game."
Krom said Thursday's setback was something of a measuring stick. The Demons have three weeks to figure out an answer before the Oct. 21 rematch at Century.
"We knew they were very aggressive servers and very aggressive attackers and they took it to us," Krom said. "...We were able to recognize areas where we need to improve in order to give them a good run the next time we meet."
Century 25 25 23 25
Bismarck 13 7 25 17
CENTURY- Kills: Madi Buck 14, Carli Peterson 14, Tricia Sorensen 8, Hailee Walsh 4, Morgan Wald 4. Blocks:Buck 3, Peterson 3, Wald 3. Assists:Walsh 35, Erika Jossart 3. Digs:Jossart 17, Buck 16, Peterson 11, Walsh 10, Lexi Holzer 5, Sorensen 5. Aces:Sorensen 7, Wald 3, Buck 3, Jossart 3.
BISMARCK - Kills: Annie Assel 9, Averi Schmidt 6, KaitlynWeigel 5, Liz Assel 4. Blocks: Twila Moser 3. Assists:KaSara Rudolph 20. Digs: Kaitlyn Sturlaugson 36, Rudolph 14, Emilee Vetter 13, L.Assel 9. Aces:Sturlaugson 1, Anna Hruby 1.
Records: Century 6-0 West Region, 19-5 overall; Bismarck 7-2, 15-5.
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