MINOT - The Dickinson Trinity Titans made it look easy. Throw the ball in the air and put it in play.

The Titans racked up 15 service aces against the Center-Stanton Wildcats in a quarterfinal match of the Class B state volleyball tournament. Dickinson Trinity cruised to a 25-12, 25-19, 26-19 victory on Thursday night at the Minot State Dome.

The Titans (38-7) match up with Kenmare tonight in a semifinal match. The Wildcats (28-13) play Thompson in the losers' bracket. The Honkers took care of the Tommies 3-1.

Litchville-Marion-Montpelier and Langdon both won their respective quarterfinal matches and will play tonight in the semifinals. LMM swept Stanley, and Langdon handled Lisbon 3-1. Stanley and Lisbon matchup today at noon in the losers' bracket.

The Titans flexed their muscle early, firing off eight aces in the first set and adding four more in the second. Sheyenne Plummer and Breanna Messer totaled five aces each and Marinna Marsh added three. Marsh, a senior outside hitter, made a statement by putting down an ace on the first play of the match.

Dickinson Trinity didn't send across bullets. They took a safe approach, misfiring on just three of 74 attempts from the service line.

"We talked about coming out strong," Dickinson Trinity coach Melini Grosulak said. "Marinna came out with an ace."

The Wildcats - making their second straight state-tournament appearance - had a miserable time with their serve receiving early. They dug themselves into a 14-7 hole in the first game and trailed 10-0 in the second set - which was too much to overcome.

"We came out tense," C-S coach Janet Erhardt said. "I didn't expect that because the majority of them were here last year. You can't run your offense when you can't pass. They didn't serve that aggressive, they did short serves. We spend about 85 to 90 percent of our practices working on serve receiving."

The Wildcats showed some signs of life in Game 2 after coach Grosulak subbed in players to give them state-tournament experience. C-S rattled off a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 21-19.

Grosulak put her regulars back in. Breanna Messer, Shannon Ernst and Emily Gordon all answered with kills. Dickinson Trinity also benefitted from a C-S serve receiving error and hitting error.

"When I put my starters back in, they weren't down on those girls," Grosulak said. "For the most part, the team handled it well."

Marsh wasn't worried about a momentum shift while entering the deciding game.

"I wasn't concerned at all," she said. "We were down, but we were capable of getting back on track."

Marsh led Dickinson Trinity with 10 kills. Emily Gordon added eight and Messer six. Plummer collected 19 assists.

Rebecca Hovey and Jenny Erhardt paced C-S with five kills apiece. Connie Miller added three. Bailey Henke dished out 11 assists.

DT 25 25 25

C-S 12 19 16

DT: Kills - Marinna Marsh 10, Emily Gordon 8, Breanna Messer 6. Blocks - Marsh 1, Ashley Sickler 1, Sheyenne Plummer 1. Assists - Plummer 19. Digs - Plummer 10, Alyson Kovash 6, Chelsey Galipeau 6, Marsh 6. Aces - Plummer 5, Messer 5, Marsh 3.

C-S: Kills - Rebecca Hovey 5, Jenny Erhardt 5, Connie Miller 3. Blocks - Hovey 1, Bailey Henke 1. Assists - Henke 11. Digs - Miller 12, Erhardt 10, Henke 9. Aces - Erhardt 3, Hovey 1.

Records: DT 38-7, C-S 28-13.

Kenmare 3, Thompson 1

The unbeaten Kenmare Honkers came closer to their quest in defending their state title. Kenmare finished off the Thompson Tommies 25-20, 18-25, 25-10, 25-10. Stephanie Barnhart led Kenmare with 16 kills. Keri Nelson added 12 and Katie King 10. Kendra Miller racked up 40 assists.

Jessica Weber guided Thompson with nine kills. Setter Nicole Schumacher ran the offense with 19 assists.

Kenmare 25 18 25 25

Thompson 20 25 10 10

KENMARE: Kills - Stephanie Barnhart 16, Keri Nelson 12, Katie King 11. Blocks - Barnhart 1, Kortni Miller 1, Nelson 1. Assists - Kendra Miller 46. Digs - Dayna Froseth 29, Barnhart 17, Macie Harris 13. Aces -Nelson 5, Barnhart 4, King 3. Stephanie Barnhart 16, Keri Nelson 12, Katie King 11. Blocks - Barnhart 1, Kortni Miller 1, Nelson 1. Assists - Kendra Miller 46. Digs - Dayna Froseth 29, Barnhart 17, Macie Harris 13. Aces -Nelson 5, Barnhart 4, King 3.

THOMPSON: Kills - Jessica Weber 9, Jennifer Hegg 5, Nicole Schumacher 5. Blocks - Laura Schumacher 4, N. Schumacher 2, Whitney Sponsler 1, Weber 1. Assists - N. Schumacher 19. Digs - Hegg 10, L. Schumacher 7, N. Schumacher 7. Aces - Hegg 5, N. Schumacher 4, Samantha Brorby 1, Weber 1.

Records: Kenmare 45-0; Thompson 32-12.

Litchville-Marion-Montpelier 3, Stanley 0

The LMM Rebels stayed unbeaten on the season by making quick work of the Stanley Blue Jays with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-14 win. LMM totaled 29 kills with Heather Brown leading the way with 14. Carly Van Bruggen ran the offense and dished out 19 assists. Brown also collected eight blocks, five solo and three assisted.

Jori Fladeland guided Stanley with 10 kills, and setter Reeann Mehus dished out 19 assists.

Stanley 15 22 14

LMM 25 25 25

STANLEY: Kills - Jori Fladeland 10, Jasmin Pappa 5, Rachel Mehus 4. Blocks - Fladeland 3. Assists - Reeann Mehus 19. Digs - Kyli Locken 11, Megan Hollekim 7, Pappa 4, Rachel Mehus 4. Aces - Hollekim 2, Pappa 2, Re. Mehus 1, Kyli Locken 1.

LMM: Kills - Heather Brown 14, Erika Lies 7, Sophie Miller 4. Blocks - Brown 8, Carly Van Bruggen 4, Miller 1. Assists - Van Bruggen 19. Digs - Lacey Gohner 9, Lies 8, Van Bruggen 8. Aces - Sara Jensen 3, Brown 2, Kayla Rodin 2, Gohner 2.

Records: LMM 22-0; Stanley 16-3.

Langdon 3, Lisbon 1

After dropping the first game, the Langdon Cardinals won the next three for a 22-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-17 triumph over the Lisbon Broncos. Courtney Becker paced the Cardinals with 17 kills and McKenzie Hart added 16. Setter Ashley Hall dealt out 33 assists and registered five aces.

Lisbon was guided by Kali Olson's 15 kills. Teammate Veronica Munkeby added 12. Susan Lyons dished out 22 assists, and Ashley Berg collected 23 digs.

Langdon 22 26 25 25

Lisbon 25 24 22 17

LANGDON: Kills - Courtney Becker 17, McKenzie Hart 16, Rachel Bachman 5, Shannon Overby 5. Blocks - Ashley Hall 2, Rachel Bachman 2, Becker 2. Assists - Ashley Hall 33. Digs - Hall 18, Hart 12, Overby11. Aces - Hall 5, Overby 2, Hart 1.

LISBON: Kills - Kali Olson 15, Veronica Munkeby 12. Blocks - Munkeby 2, Jessica Rotenberger 1, Olson 1. Assists - Susan Lyons 22. Digs - Ashley Berg 23, Munkeby 15, Taylor Wagner 10. Aces - Munkeby 3, Taryn Wagner 3, Lyons 1, Rotenberger 1.

Records: Langdon 36-8; Lisbon 34-9.