Miners rise up, defeat New England

• Nicole Schramm

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Beulah junior Nicole Schramm, middle, goes up for a kill while New England sophomore Taylor Hewson, left, and senior Erin Volk, right, defend the play on Monday afternoon during the Region 7 volleyball tournament quarterfinals at the Killdeer High School gymnasium.

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KILLDEER — New England did everything it could to push around the defending Region 7 volleyball champions, especially in the final points.

But Beulah rose to the occasion and took another step toward defending its title with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-22 quarterfinal victory in the Region 7 Tournament on Monday afternoon at the Killdeer High School gymnasium.

“Some of them were upset at themselves for certain situations,” Beulah head coach Kevin Peterson said. “I just told them, it’s done. We did exactly what we had to do tonight. We’re going to play again tomorrow.”

Sophomores Nicole Schramm and Jaime Murschel each had 12 kills to lead the Miners (25-11) while junior setter Lakin Kessler dished out 31 assists and had seven digs.

New England, the No. 4 seed out of District 13, and Beulah opened the regular season with a five-set match in which the Miners were victorious.

Tigers head coach Taylor Brown said her team knew it would be a tough road against the District 14 champions, but added that tournament nerves may have hurt the team in the long run.

Taylor Hewson led the Tigers with six kills, one block, an ace and four digs. Gabbi Hanson had five kills, six assists, two aces and a block. Hannah Nordby and Bryanna Rasch each had five kills.

“I’m very happy with my girls,” Brown said. “They came out here and they were ready to play. The nerves just kind of got the best of them today. They did everything right. They did great.”

NE 21 18 22 — 0

Beulah 25 25 25 — 3

Kills: NE, Taylor Hewson 6, Gabbi Hanson 5, Hannah Nordby 5, Bryanna Rasch 5. B, Jaime Murschel 12, Nicole Schramm 12, Delaney Johansen 6, Kelsie Schmidt 4, Cassidy Schutt 3.

Blocks: NE, Ashley Plaggemeyer 3, Hanson 1, Taylor Hewson 1, Rasch 1. B, Schramm 1, Schmidt 1, Schutt 1.

Aces: NE, Hanson 2, Hewson 1, Nordby 1, Erin Volk 1. B, Schmidt 2, Murschel 2, Lakin Kessler 1, Nessa Iverson 1.

Digs: NE, Rasch 7, Maddie Humleker 4, Hewson 4, Nordby 4. B, Schmidt 12, Murschel 8, Iverson 7, Kessler 7.

Assists: NE, Volk 10, Hanson 6. B, Kessler 31, Johansen 2.

Region 7 Tournament

At Killdeer High School Gymnasium

Quarterfinals

Matches Monday

Beulah def. New England, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22

Richardton-Taylor def. Mott-Regent, 24-26, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18

Beach def. Hazen, 27-25, 25-16, 25-21

Dickinson Trinity def. Heart River, 25-20, 25-13, 25-19

Semifinals

Matches today

Beulah vs. Richardton-Taylor, 6 p.m.

Beach vs. Dickinson Trinity, 7:30 p.m.

Matches Thursday

Third place: Semifinal losers, 6 p.m.

Championship: Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.

Tags: new england tigers, beulah miners, region 7 tournament, sports, volleyball, preps