Dealt the wrong cards

The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets hosted the No. 4 ranked Langdon Area/Munich Cardinals on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

The Rockets have been quite lucky the past two years, being able to take down the Cardinals, as they are one tough cookie to crack.

However, this regular season, the Rockets took a close three-set loss to the Cardinals (17-25, 19-25, 19-25).

Although the Rockets took only their second Region 4 loss, the team played extremely well against one of the best teams in Class B volleyball for North Dakota.

Blockers Kaci Weisenburger and Tillie Swart made contact with most of the Cardinals hits, and NR-S libero Logan Cudworth dove for all the attempted kills. With perfectly placed sets by Alivia Yri and sweet zingers by hitters Ava Peterson, Kaiya O'Connor and Emmie Belquist, the Rockets all around were simply playing their best ball game yet.

For the past two years, the Rockets let the Cardinals off with a win in the regular season and they come back during the Region 4 Tournament to take them down where it counts. Will it happen again this year? We shall see that outcome during tournament time in November!

During this matchup, the Langdon Area/Munich setter Payton Hall surpassed her 1,000th assist. Congratulations Payton!

Leading the Rockets in kills was NR-S senior Kaiya O'Connor with a total of nine with Emmie Belquist and Ava Peterson following just one kill behind with eight each. It was LA/M eighth grader Hilary Haaven and senior Meredith Romfo who scored the most kills for the Cardinals each with a total of 12. Aubrey Badding also scored in double digits with a total of 10.

Both the Rockets and the Cardinals each scored on a total of eight blocks. For the Rockets, Peterson led with a total of four, followed by Weisenburger with two and Tillie Swart and Belquist each with one. On the Cardinals side of things, Badding had a total of four, Kemi Morstad has two, and Avery Lorenz and Payton Hall added one each.

Belquist was found digging up the most hits from the Cardinals with a total of 18. Also earning double digits in digs were O'Connor with 14, Peterson with 13 and Logan Cudworth with 12. Leading in digs for the Cardinals was Romfo with 19, and Payton Hall, Morstad and Haaven all with 15.

The Cardinals defeated the Rockets b-squad, c-squad and eighth grade teams in two sets. However, the Rockets seventh grade team pulled away with one set win, but eventually fell short in the other two.

The Rockets traveled to Rolette on Thursday, Oct. 24 to take on the North Prairie Cougars in their home territory. This game, along with Monday's game versus the Griggs-Midkota Titans (A,B,C,8,7) in Glenfield and Tuesday's game at home versus the Nelson County Chargers (A,B,C,8,7) will be covered in the November 4 edition of the New Rockford Transcript.

Region 4 Volleyball

NR-S 0, LA/M 3

Tuesday, Oct. 22

in New Rockford

NR-S: 17 19 19 - 0

LA/M: 25 25 25 - 3

NR-S Individual Stats

Aces: Ava Peterson 2, Emmie Belquist 1.

Assists: Alivia Yri 25, Kaci Weisenburger 1.

Blocks: Peterson 4, Weisenburger 2, Tillie Swart 1, Belquist 1.

Digs: Belquist 18, Kaiya O'Connor 14, Peterson 13, Logan Cudworth 12, Yri 8, Bailey Jacobson 1, Weisenburger 1.

Kills: O'Connor 9, Belquist 8, Peterson 8, Weisenburger 2, Cudworth 1, Swart 1.

LA/M Individual Stats

Aces: Payton Hall 3, Raeleigh Ratzlaff 2, Emma Hall 1, Hilary Haaven 1, Kemi Morstad 1, Meredith Romfo 1.

Assists: P. Hall 35, Morstad 3, Romfo 2, Aubrey Badding 1, Haaven 1.

Blocks: Badding 4, Morstad 2, Avery Lorenz 1, P. Hall 1.

Digs: Romfo 19, P. Hall 15, Morstad 15, Haaven 15, Ratzlaff 5, Badding 4, Lorenz 3.

Kills: Haaven 12, Romfo 12, Badding 10, Morstad 6, Lorenz 2, P. Hall 1.

B-Squad

NR-S 0, LA/M 2

NR-S: 16 13 - 0

LA/M: 25 25 - 2

C-Squad

NR-S 0, LA/M 2

NR-S: 8 16 - 0

LA/M: 25 25 - 2

8th Grade

NR-S 0, LA/M 2

NR-S: 10 23 - 0

LA/M: 25 25 - 2

7th Grade

NR-S 1, LA/M 2

NR-S: 6 28 7 - 1

LA/M: 25 26 15 - 2