Photos by Noah Clooten
DEVILS LAKE — For the 23rd time in the 37-year history of Class B volleyball in North Dakota, Langdon Area/Munich is heading to the state tournament.
The Cardinals (35-5, 9-0) secured their first state appearance since 2021 with a 3-0 win over Benson County on Thursday at the Devils Lake Sports Center. Student sections showed out on both sides to pack the bleachers full of rambunctious fans, all passionately supporting their teams.
“That’s what it’s all about,” LA/M head coach Rich Olson said. “When the fans come out like this, the student sections are yelling back and forth, you love it. It makes it exciting. It makes a little bit tense, too. But this is what we’re gonna experience at state next week.”
The Wildcats (24-9, 7-2), who have only made the state tournament once (in 2000, as Leeds), saw their impressive season come to an end in the Region 4 championship. It was a high-paced, explosive match that Benson County kept close in the first two sets, 25-17 and 25-21, before LA/M took the final set 25-9.
The Cardinals had to fight out of a 9-3 hole in the second set.
“That was one of the best comebacks in a set in the postseason in my postseason coaching history,” Olson said. “That was really a big part of the match. Instead of being tied 1-1, now you’re up 2-0. And then the third set we really put it together.”
Sophomore Aubrey Badding had 14 kills and three blocks to lead the Cardinals. She played a versatile and athletic game to be the major force of this team both with her play and her energy.
“I’m so excited,” Badding siad. “This is everything our team has worked for all season… It was awesome.”
The state tournament will take place at the Fargodome from Nov. 21-23. LA/M has been to the event more times than any other team in all of Class B. It’ll now be chasing its fifth state title.
“What I’m most proud of is that we’ve had players that have bought into what we’re trying to teach them,” said Olson, who’s been the head coach for the majority of the team’s existence. “They’re driven to be the best they can be.”
Set 1: Langdon Area/Munich 25, Benson County 17 (1-0 Cardinals)
Both teams came out swinging.
Badding and Fautsch traded kills, and Aubrey Kenner sent Benson County ahead 3-1. A Meredith Romfo ace tied it back up at 3-3. Kills by LA/M’s Hilary Haaven tied it at 4-4 and 5-5, and an ace by Kemi Morstad and another kill by Haaven made it 7-5 Cardinals.
Haaven, only an eighth-grader, was one of three Cardinals named to the All-Region 4 Team, along with Badding, Romfo and Payton Hall.
“It’s so great,” Badding said. “She just keeps getting better.”
Liberty Streyle tied it back up at 8-8 for Benson County. But after back-to-back kills by Badding — who nearly reached double-digit kills in the first set alone — the Cardinals led 11-8, and they never relinquished their lead.
The Wildcats chipped back to keep it as close as 15-14. LA/M took over from there, winning seven of the next eight points to run away with the set. Badding finished it off by tipping one over the net, completing a dominant individual performance in a crucial first-set win.
“We knew we had to stay aggressive and win the long rallies,” Badding said. “And that’s what we did.”
Set 2: Langdon Area/Munich 25, Benson County 21 (2-0 Cardinals)
Benson County gave the Cardinals a brief scare. Kills by Kenner and Streyle, along with an error and a penalty, gave the Wildcats early leads of 5-1 and 9-3.
LA/M took a timeout.
“I probably lied a little bit, honestly,” Olson said of his message to the team. “I said, ‘Hey, a lot of breaks are going their way. They’ve gotten the ball to bounce their way.’ That wasn’t true. They were making great plays. I mean, Kenner had a couple kills, and they were on fire — which they’re capable of. That’s why they’re in this match.”
So the comeback process commenced. Haaven and Romfo each had a kill back-to-back, squeezing the deficit to 10-6. But Fautsch had two kills in a three-point span for Benson County, sandwiching an Olivia Follman ace to make it 13-6.
“Even if you don’t come back, maybe you can take some momentum into the next set,” Olson said. “I wouldn’t say that, but that’s what I’m thinking as a coach.”
Badding won two points for LA/M with a block and a kill, and Hall hit an ace to get it back to 13-9. A Fautsch kill gave the ball back to Benson County — but the Cardinals won the next five points to tie it back up at 14-14.
Badding had two kills and Romfo had two aces in that span. Romfo had three aces on the night to complement her five kills.
Streyle briefly put Benson County ahead 15-14, but Haaven tied it back up with a kill. Back-to-back aces by Emma Hall and Morstad gave the Cardinals the lead.
The resilient Wildcats took three straight to leap back ahead 18-17, with their star, Kenner, giving them the lead back. But Haaven smacked a kill to provide another LA/M response.
The Cardinals won the final five points to come back from down 21-20. Romfo and Badding had kills, and Raeleigh Ratzlaff finished it off with an ace.
Set 3: Langdon Area/Munich 25, Benson County 9 (3-0 Cardinals)
Finally, after two competitive sets, the night ended the way the Cardinals’ season has gone: with dominance.
They led 4-0 out of the gates, fueled by Badding and Romfo. Kills from Streyle and Kenner briefly brought it back to 5-4, but a 7-0 run propelled LA/M ahead 13-5. Avery Lorenz and P. Hall came up with kills.
Runs of 5-0 and 6-0 all but sealed the deal. Ratzlaff had a pair of aces, and Badding won the match’s penultimate point. Benson County fought off two set points before an error brought the match to its abrupt end, with a swarm of black and red swarming the court.
There was cheering. Then there was a ceremony honoring the athletes, teams and coaches from around the region, including the 20 All-Region 4 athletes and the Coach of the Year, New Rockford-Sheyenne’s Sara Myhre. Then there was more celebrating.
Romfo, one of the team’s two seniors, hoisted the trophy as the team crowded together in a circle. The Cardinals took a group photo, then hung around the Devils Lake Sports Center for a little while longer to soak in the triumph.
But on Thursday, it’ll be back to business.
“First, I’m gonna tell them how much I love them, and how much fun they are to be around,” Olson said. “And just how proud I am of them. I don’t know where we’ll get seeded, but we’re gonna go out there with the same energy and confidence that we showed here.”
