Annabelle Staus (Photo by Noah Clooten)
CANDO — A mostly dominant victory for North Star ended in some wackiness on Thursday.
The Bearcats (13-7, 4-1) kept their solid season going with a district win over St. John (6-15, 1-4) at North Star High School. They won 3-0, with set scores of 25-11, 25-8 and 25-22.
“I asked them to come out and serve tough. They did just that,” North Star head coach Kirstin Ahlberg said. “They came out with confidence and energy, which was great. And they closed out the games like I asked them to.”
Senior middle blocker Annabelle Staus led the Bearcats with 13 kills. She came in averaging 2.42 kills per set.
Her consistency has been the centerpiece of the North Star attack. On the outsides, Claire Jorde and Genevieve Ahlberg added seven and six kills, respectively. Ashley Nikolaisen helped out with 20 assists, while Avery Elsperger had 12 assists.
“I think the setters are setting pretty good,” Staus said. “And I think we’re just able to really connect with each other.”
Staus’s 6-foot-2 height helps her swat balls away in front of the net.
“It’s a plus, I guess,” she said with a chuckle.
After a second set where they led 21-2 at one point, the Bearcats limped a little bit to the finish line.
They led 15-7 in the third set before dropping six consecutive points. With North Star up 17-13, there was a long delay as the officials deliberated with both teams’ coaches. Initially, they took a point off the board for North Star, but then added it back after 10-plus minutes.
The players stayed loose and active on the court during the delay. The loudspeaker even played “Go, Cubs, Go” in honor of the Chicago Cubs’ Wild Card series victory from earlier Thursday.
“We had some good music going, so it was easy to keep going,” Staus said. “But it was weird. It did definitely throw us off a little.”
Play seemed to resume like normal — until, with North Star leading 19-15, an illegal substitution put two points on the board for St. John. There was another delay and more confusion about what was going on.
“It has to do with the libero subbing,” Ahlberg said. “And I needed to sub in a different person before the libero ran in for another person. And we just ran in the libero area instead of a sub.”
Even while staying as fresh as they could, the Bearcats were a little out of sync once they resumed play. St. John came back to tie it at 20-20.
“If Coach stays calm, then hopefully they stay calm,” Ahlberg said. “We do situational things in practice all the time too, of close points, and they know that they just have to take care of the ball and not make unforced errors.”
A kill by Staus ended a long rally to put North Star back ahead. Kills by Jorde and Karlee Gefroh helped the Bearcats finish a 25-22 set win.
The third set was a bit of a rocky road, but they got it done.
“It was my fault. So everyone’s mad at me because it took longer than they wanted it to,” Ahlberg said about the delay, with a laugh. “But it happens. I learned something. So it’s all good.”
The preceding two sets were a smoother ride.
Staus came out swinging from up front. She collected seven kills in a 25-11 win to open the night.
“I love her confidence,” Ahlberg said. “And she’s having a lot of fun playing. I feel like she’s more loose and ready to try different things. Actually, in practice, her serve-receive and her defense has been awesome; I would have no problem putting her in the back row if I needed to. … She’s just improved her game, and she’s got a smile on her face.”
After dropping the first point of the second set, North Star won nine in a row and 21 out of the next 22. The Bearcats led 21-2, on the verge of a rare margin of victory in volleyball.
St. John won four points in a row to spoil those thoughts. But the Bearcats still held the Woodchucks to a single digit in the second set, 25-8.
The third set was the only real trying period for North Star on Thursday. Even before all of the delays, the Bearcats only led by two points.
“I was subbing a lot more that game. I will take my bad for the inconsistencies in the flow of the game — I think that’s really what it was,” Ahlberg said. “So they couldn’t get their flow back of getting more aggressive and being able to really get their rhythm of attacking the ball. So that was my fault.”
Staus added four kills in the final set. She complemented her 13 kills with two blocks, six digs and an ace.
“I thought we had good, positive energy,” Staus said. “And we were talking. Even during that weird break in the third set, we just kept having fun. We weren’t awkward during the break.”
North Star has now won four of its first five district matches — out of what will be eight total. Last year, the Bearcats only won three of their nine region matches during the regular season.
This is despite losing a talented senior class and having to put some players in bigger roles.
“When you have a young team, as long as they’re showing up to practice and working hard — which they have — they are seeing that they are getting better as the year goes by,” Ahlberg said. “And that’s all you ask. You need to keep getting better. And by the end of the season, that’s where you want to be: playing your best. So we’re not peaking yet, which is great. We still want to keep working hard.”
Last season was one plagued by injuries and inconsistencies. This year, the Bearcats have been able to start strong and keep pace through the bulk of the season.
“We’re all friends,” Staus said. “Everyone’s able to click with each other, and we’re all able to talk it out. No one holds grudges with each other.”
North Star hosts Dunseith (7-9, 1-3) in another region match Tuesday night.
