Devils Lake volleyball enters region play as a ranked team.
The Firebirds came in at No. 5 in the initial Division A poll released Tuesday, as voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. These polls are expected to be updated every two weeks.
Devils Lake was 2-0 at the time of the poll, having won all six sets. The Firebirds went on to beat Rugby 3-2 in their last match before region play begins Thursday.
“It’s awesome,” Devils Lake head coach Tangella Martinson said. “These girls have an incredible amount of talent, and they deserve to get recognized for that.”
Devils Lake received one first-place vote and 11 points. It was one of two ranked teams from Region 2, with Carrington coming in at No. 3.
May-Port-C-G and Thompson, which finished first and fifth at state last year, respectively, received votes but were unranked. Region opponent Harvey/Wells County also received votes.
This ranking is unprecedented in recent Devils Lake volleyball history. The Firebirds had been struggling in the Eastern Dakota Conference before the implementation of the three-class system. Even last year, they only finished sixth out of seven teams in Region 2 with a 3-9 region record.
“It is [cool to see], especially since we’ve been down the last how many years during volleyball,” senior hitter Kinley Johnson said. “It’s just good to get back up.”
The Firebirds take a 3-0 overall record into region play, which begins Thursday, Sept. 10 on the road against Thompson (2-1). After that, they’ll face another team receiving votes in H/WC on Sept. 15 before hosting Hillsboro/Central Valley, a team that went five sets with Carrington, on Sept. 17. They’ll host a ranked Carrington team on Sept. 22.
“I like it,” Johnson said. “It’s nice to play some good competition during the season.”
Devils Lake most recently made a volleyball state tournament in 2017. The Firebirds have never won a volleyball state title.
The voting was more spread out in Division A than in the other two divisions. Each of the five ranked teams in Division A received at least one first-place vote. Oak Grove led the way with four, while Carrington had three and Northern Cass had two despite Northern Cass being ranked ahead of Carrington at No. 2. Carrington then beat Northern Cass in three sets on Tuesday.
Seven additional teams were unranked but received top-five votes.
Division B poll
Meanwhile, in Division B, two-time defending state champion Langdon Area/Munich led the way with 10 out of 11 first-place votes and 50 points. The Cardinals are 8-0 overall and 1-0 in district play, as of Wednesday.
Medina-Pingree/Buchanan received the lone remaining first-place vote.
Interestingly, North Star came in at No. 3 while Benson County merely received votes. Benson County went 30-5 last season and was a set away from the state tournament. North Star had a solid bounce-back campaign after a disappointing 2024, but the Bearcats were eliminated in the first round of the region tournament. North Star lost 3-0 to LA/M twice, 3-0 to Benson County and 3-0 to New Rockford-Sheyenne. The Bearcats were 22-12 overall.
With Benson County graduating all-state hitter Aubrey Kenner and North Star returning talented young players like Claire Jorde and Genevieve Ahlberg, the voters gave the Bearcats a boost. As of Wednesday, North Star is 8-0 overall and 2-0 in district play. Benson County has played just two matches and won them both, with one being a district match.
LA/M, North Star and Benson County were the only District 4 teams that received votes. In Region 2’s other district, District 3, unranked Hatton/Northwood was the only team to receive votes.
West Fargo Sheyenne topped the Division AA poll unanimously with 10 first-place votes.
Division A
- Oak Grove (4) – 38 points
- Northern Cass (2) – 36 points
- Carrington (3) – 26 points
- South Prairie-Max (1) – 19 points
- Devils Lake (1) – 11 points
Received votes: Thompson, Killdeer, Harvey/Wells County, Stanley, May-Port-C-G, Hazen, Valley City
Division B
- Langdon Area/Munich (10) – 50 points
- Medina-Pingree/Buchanan (1) – 31 points
- North Star – 30 points
- Central McLean – 19 points
- Kenmare/Bowbells – 14 points
Received votes: Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier, Wyndmere/Lidgerwood, Benson County, Hatton/Northwood