After bad weekend, Beulah bounces back to sweep Trinity

• Katelyn Grinsteinner

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Dickinson Trinity junior Katelyn Grinsteinner, right, hits into a block put up by Beulah sophomore Nicole Schramm, left, and junior Lakin Kessler on Tuesday in a District 14 volleyball match at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.

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Beulah head coach Kevin Peterson was nervous coming into Tuesday’s volleyball match against Dickinson Trinity after enduring a rough stretch last weekend at the Dickinson High Invitational.

Shortly after the opening points, however, the nerves were put to rest and Beulah took a 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 sweep over its District 14 opponent on Tuesday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.

“I thought we were really prepared,” Peterson said. “After this weekend, we kind of let each other down. We spent (Monday) talking about being good to yourself, being a good teammate and we had a pretty intense practice.”

The Miners didn’t have much trouble winning the opening set, but the second and third sets were the spark Peterson wanted to see.

“We played good stretches of volleyball this year where that’s happened before,” Peterson said. “We had the ability to not let a lot of things get us down tonight.”

In the second set, Beulah trailed Trinity 14-10. But after a pair of Kelsie Schmidt aces, the train was back on track. Each team battled until the score was knotted at 21 points apiece. Schmidt, the lone senior on the Miners roster, had three kills.

That’s when the Titans made a key serving error that allowed Beulah’s Nessa Iverson to set up to the serving stripe. The sophomore libero snuck in back-to-back aces to give the Miners a 24-21 lead. Beulah finished out the set with a Nicole Schramm block.

“We knew the intensity had to be up to compete with those guys,” Trinity junior outside hitter Katelyn Grinsteinner said. “We really had to come together as a team.”

Schramm had a match-high 13 kills and also supplied three aces. Jaime Murschel posted 10 kills, while Delaney Johansen had six and Cassidy Schutt added five.

“It’s really nice when they are confident enough to take a hard swing,” said Beulah junior setter Lakin Kessler, who had 32 assists and nine digs.

The Miners (12-8, 2-1 District 14) climbed out of a bigger hole in the third set. After a Molly Schweitzer ace, Beulah took a timeout trailing 12-6. The timeout didn’t faze the Titans. They added two more points after the break.

“We were working really well,” Grinsteinner said. “Everything was just flowing on offense. On defense, we were all ready.”

That’s when Schramm went to work, nailing down three straight kills to bring the Miners within one, 14-13. Beulah continued to ride the wave of momentum and grabbed an 18-14 advantage.

“I noticed, after each of our plays tonight, that the kids were talking to one another, so they didn’t isolate themselves,” Peterson said. “The whole team atmosphere was to chip away.”

The Titans didn’t go away quietly, forcing a tie at 22-22 after an Allison Steffan block, a Gretchen Weir kill and a long point ending in a Trinity block.

Alyson Schieno led the Titans with 10 kills, two aces and 20 digs. Weir added seven kills and two blocks. Grinsteinner supplied seven kills and three aces.

“We just really kept our energy up and I think that helped me throughout the whole game,” said Steffan, who had five kills and two blocks.

After trading points, Trinity’s Kennedy Keator committed a serving error that opened the door for the Miners.

Beulah used the opportunity to score the next two points and finish out the sweep.

The Titans continue their season in one week, hosting Killdeer at 7 p.m. next Tuesday.

“It was a good experience to see where we’re at in the season,” Grinsteinner said. “Now we just have to move on from here and continue to improve.”

Beulah 25 25 25 — 3

Trinity 16 21 22 — 0

Kills: B, Nicole Schramm 13, Jaime Murschel 10, Delaney Johansen 6, Cassidy Schutt 5, Kelsie Schmidt 3. T, Alyson Schieno 10, Katelyn Grinsteinner 7, Gretchen Weir 7, Allison Steffan 5.

Blocks: B, Schramm 1. T, Weir 2, Steffan 2.

Aces: B, Schramm 3, Schmidt 2, Nessa Iverson 2. T, Grinsteinner 3, Schieno 2.

Digs: B, Murschel 11, Iverson 10, Johansen 10, Lakin Kessler 9, Schmidt 8. T, Schieno 20, Jillian Stockert 13, Grinsteinner 8, Katelyn Dockter 7, Kennedy Keator 6.

Assists: B, Kessler 32. T, Dockter 18, Keator 3.

Tags: trinity titans, beulah miners, sports, volleyball, preps