Photo courtesy of New Rockford Transcript
ROLLA — After a rematch with Benson County didn’t go their way, the Rockets took care of business Monday night to earn a spot in the region tournament.
New Rockford-Sheyenne entered districts as the No. 2 seed. But after taking down the Wildcats 3-2 in the regular season, they lost to the Wildcats 3-2 in Friday’s semifinals. It pushed them to a win-or-go-home region qualifier match on Monday at Rolla Public School.
“That’s what makes strong teams,” Rockets senior Ava Peterson said. “You learn how to win, and you learn how to lose, and you learn how to battle in that fifth set. That fifth set is all about who has more fight, who has more want to win. And we had one successful, and we had one not so successful. We know what we did wrong, and that comes down to us knowing and being ready to fix it up for the next game.”
NR-S (24-11) handled No. 5-seeded Nelson County (7-19) in three sets to clinch the No. 3 seed from District 4. The Rockets pulled out 25-19 and 25-18 wins before slamming the door with a 25-9 third set.
“They were ready to play,” NR-S head coach Sara Myhre said. “Nelson County is a very scrappy team. Coming off that big five-setter against Benson County, which was really good competition, the girls were ready for today.”
In the loss to Benson County, the Rockets nearly pulled off a 2-0 comeback. They evened the match at two sets apiece before falling 15-10 in the fifth-set tiebreaker.
“Going into a fifth set with a really good team is always nerve-wracking,” Myhre said. “But I thought our girls played really well, and it just came down to errors and momentum. And I could feel it shift a little bit. But super happy for Benson County, and that was a good night for us, too. And then now with Nelson, taking them in three, we’re just super excited to get to regionals, for sure.”
Peterson, who was named District 4 Senior Athlete of the Year, led NR-S with 18 kills unofficially.
“Our passes were on point,” Peterson said. “That’s really what led to the sets, to the hits. And we had fun tonight. That was something we talked about today a little bit, is we want to have some fun. And I think we showed that tonight.”
Nelson County hung around for most of the first set. It was tied 8-8 early on. Sydney Anderson had her first of five kills unofficially on the night for the Chargers. Aubree Christinson defended a strong hit by Emmie Belquist, tipping it over the net.
Peterson ended a long rally with a kill in the center of the court. It ignited a 5-0 run for the Rockets.
But after Nelson County won three in a row, and seven out of 10, NR-S had a slim lead of 20-17. Myhre called a timeout.
Peterson said the team emphasized one of its primary mantras in the huddle.
“We make two mistakes, we need to get the next point,” Peterson said. “That’s another one of our mottos: Two mistakes, find the next point. And it just kind of comes down to, ‘Are we gonna fight it, or are we gonna let it get to us?’”
Belquist found an open space to get NR-S back on the board. She had seven kills on the night unofficially, including four in the opening set.
Peterson finished the first-set win with back-to-back kills. She tallied seven kills in each of the first two sets.
A 6-0 run ignited the Rockets to a 13-6 lead in the second. Nelson County fought back to within three, but NR-S won seven of the last 10 points. The 25-18 victory gave the Rockets a 2-0 match lead.
Setter Alivia Yri also chipped in with a pair of deceptive kills Monday night.
“We just needed to pick up our offense a little bit, and have a quicker offense,” Myhre said. “They dug everything. So we needed to find open spots. And we kind of settled in, and we started finding our open spots.”
NR-S cruised to the finish line, winning five straight points to go up 10-4 in the third set.
One of Peterson’s kills came after Nelson County blocked a hard shot from her on the previous hit.
“I’ve really focused on where I’m taking my approach from,” Peterson said. “And if I’m too close to the ball, that’s usually when they’re going out. If I stay back and I wait for my setter to give me the best ball she can, I can do pretty much anything with it.”
Peterson also had three aces in a four-point span. She totaled eight aces on the night.
“I was picking people to serve at, and I was just deciding, like, ‘I’m gonna go hard. If I make a mistake, that’s what comes with the hard serve,’” Peterson said. “So you just have to take the downs with the ups, I guess.”
After an error by Peterson made it 13-7, the Rockets won 11 points in a row. Belquist had a kill and an ace in that span, along with a nice dig that set up another Peterson kill. Kaci Weisenburger also had a kill and a block in that stretch.
On one point, Peterson found herself sort of awkwardly in the front middle, with a ball above her head. While facing the opposite way, she volleyed it over into no-man’s land for a tricky kill.
“I knew the defense was gonna be moved more to the left side of the court, and I knew that right side would be open,” she said. “So I was like, ‘I’ll give it a shot and try and dump it over.’”
A kill by Anderson helped Nelson County fight off two set points. But NR-S still finished off the single-digit win, 25-9, to coast into regionals.
In addition to Peterson’s Senior Athlete of the Year honor, Belquist and libero Logan Cudworth were named to the all-district team. Nelson County libero Mya Luehring also made the team.
Now the Rockets head to regionals in Devils Lake, where they’ll start off by playing the No. 2 seed from District 3, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg.
“I think the girls are really excited,” Myhre said. “The one thing is playing the other teams in the other district that we haven’t played. So that’ll be interesting, and we’ll have to figure out who we’re gonna be playing, and go in with a good mentality of wanting to win.”
NR-S made the state tournament in 2022 and 2023. Last year, it lost in the region third-place game. But this year’s format opens up the possibility of as many as three teams from the region making state.
“I think we have a fair shot,” Peterson said. “I think all of our minds and our mindsets are on the target goal — and that’s not individuals, what we’re gonna score, what our digs are, what our kills are, what our sets are, assists; it’s about the end goal, and we want to see ourselves in that state tournament. And that only happens with playing as a team, together.”
