Hilary Haaven (8), Aubrey Badding (10)/Photos by Noah Clooten
DEVILS LAKE — The Cardinals are one step closer to the state tournament.
Langdon Area/Munich (34-5, 9-0), ranked No. 2 in the state, took care of business on Tuesday in the Region 4 quarterfinals on Tuesday at the Devils Lake Sports Center. The Cardinals won in straight sets against New Rockford-Sheyenne (12-19, 6-3), a team that had been to the state tournament each of the last two years.
The Rockets, a talented team in their own right, hung in for the majority of the match. But LA/M ultimately won 25-20, 25-22 and 25-16 to move to Thursday’s region championship. The Cardinals have now won all six sets they’ve played in this tournament, following Monday’s 3-0 win over Dunseith.
“This has been our goal all season long,” LA/M head coach Rich Olson said. “A great New Rockford team that we had to come out and play good against. We had some areas that we could have played better, and yet we made a lot of good plays tonight. We had players who stepped up and delivered for us when we needed it the most.”
Eighth-grader Hilary Haaven led the Cardinals with 14 kills unofficially, while sophomore Aubrey Badding was close behind her with 12. The powerful duo helped outduel Ava Peterson, a hard-hitting junior lefty who had just under 10 kills for NR-S.
“Oh my gosh, Ava Peterson; I mean, an all-state level player,” Olson said. “She has unbelievable playmaking ability. There’s not anything in her game that’s weak at all… They were at state the last two years for a reason, and we had to play well tonight in order to get the win.”
Set 1: Langdon Area/Munich 25, New Rockford-Sheyenne 20 (1-0 Cardinals)
Neither team played its best volleyball early on. Errors, along with kills by Haaven and Badding and an ace by Meredith Romfo, helped LA/M build an early 6-2 lead. But the Rockets clawed back to tie it at 9-9, as Tillie Swart had a kill and Ava Bullinger knotted it up with an ace.
LA/M never let NR-S into the lead, though. The Cardinals stretched their advantage to 21-14 with a pair of 3-0 runs. Haaven, who led them in kills on the night, kept LA/M alive in the wake of a fairly quiet start from Romfo.
“She’s been tremendous,” Olson said of Haaven. “We saw some of the playmaking abilities she had last year, even as a seventh-grader. And she has continued to improve. Just a well-rounded game. There’s not many areas of her game that she isn’t solid at. And to know that you have her for four more years is pretty cool.”
Back-to-back kills by Romfo made it 24-17. Emmie Belquist recorded her first kill of the set to spark a 3-0 Rockets run, but LA/M managed to finish off an imperfect yet victorious set.
Set 2: Langdon Area/Munich 25, New Rockford-Sheyenne 22 (2-0 Cardinals)
The second go-round saw a similar progression. The Cardinals technically never trailed, but the Rockets hung in there most of the way through.
Badding came alive to complement Haaven for LA/M. But Peterson started to find her own groove for NR-S, and the match morphed into the high-paced, physical shootout one would expect from these two teams.
A kill and an ace by Peterson helped trim the Rockets’ 8-3 deficit to 8-7. Badding remained a pest for the Cardinals, utilizing soft kills with deceptive angles to keep LA/M ahead.
Badding, a junior, had a typically strong, double-digit kill evening.
“She made some great shots tonight,” Olson said. “It wasn’t always power for her; sometimes, it was finesse. But she just came through and made some big plays for us when we needed it. When we were struggling offensively, it seemed like she came through with a big play.”
NR-S won five points in a row to make it a 23-21 set, aided by an Alivia Yri ace and a kill by Peterson. Another kill by Haaven, though, finished off the set with LA/M leading by the skin of its teeth.
Set 3: Langdon Area/Munich 25, Benson County 16 (3-0 Cardinals)
LA/M won the first six points out of the gates this time. Badding had two more kills, while Payton Hall and Raeleigh Ratzlaff each recorded an ace. Romfo and Kemi Morstad also had kills to round out a deep and versatile offensive effort.
But the Rockets, who trailed 11-4 at one point, chipped back to make it as close as 15-13. Peterson continued slamming deep shots while Belquist blocked well at the net.
The Cardinals got a 5-0 boost to pad their lead. Morstad had a pair of kills, while Romfo’s second ace made it 20-13.
Peterson had one last kill, but Haaven and Badding — the duo who’d led the Cardinals all night — stood their ground to finish yet another 3-0 win for this LA/M team.
The victory came ahead of a day off for both teams, who stuck around for the other semifinal match between Benson County and North Prairie. The winner would face LA/M in the Region 4 championship, while the loser would play NR-S in the third-place game.
“We’re gonna scout like crazy against these two teams,” Olson said, “and find out who we’re gonna play, and then put together a game plan and try to come out and play as hard as we can on Thursday.”
