Trinity loses to Ray, settles for 8th place

• Alyson Schieno

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Dickinson Trinity senior Alyson Schieno, right, hits against Ray junior Hanna Gillund, left, as junior Gretchen Weir watches during the seventh-place match of the Class B state volleyball tournament on Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

Talk about it

MINOT — Dickinson Trinity’s first trip to the state volleyball since 2008 didn’t result in any wins, but the team got perhaps something much greater.

Experience.

The Titans brought in a roster of 10 underclassmen and three seniors including all-region outside hitter Alyson Schieno and concluded their state tournament with a four-set loss to Ray, 25-16, 25-13, 20-25, 25-13 in the seventh-place match of the Class B state volleyball tournament on Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

“I felt that we deserved to be here by the way we played in our region,” Trinity head coach Rayma Braaten said. “It was very tough for us to stay consistent. We would get a rally where played pretty good and then we get back down.”

Braaten hopes the experience at the state tournament translates for future seasons.

“Oh definitely,” Braaten said. “I think this was a good experience for our team. It will help us to react to certain situations. The girls will realize they can compete with the teams out here.”

Ray (37-4-1), the Region 8 champion, handled Trinity (21-18) in the first two sets on the shoulders of a host of outside and middle hitters. The Jays had five hitters with six or more kills. Olivia Corcoran led the way with 15 kills, but she said she couldn’t do without Haley Hodenfield’s 34 assists.

“Haley is really good at mixing it up,” Corcoran said. “She good not just setting it to one person and she’s throwing the other team off.”

Ray also had Hanna Gillund with 12 kills, while Paige Dolan added eight, Kendra Heier had seven and Kendra Perdue supplied six.

“I felt like we played a real solid match today,” Ray head coach Michelle Dolan said. “After the first match of the tournament, we’ve been playing good, solid matches.”

With the Titans down two sets to none, Schieno had a pep talk with the team before the third match started. The Titans opened up the third set with a 7-3 lead.

Schieno, who had 21 kills against Ray, finished her high school career with 1,288 kills.

“I think it took us a little while to wake up,” said Schieno, who added 12 digs and two aces. “In that third set, we woke up and we were able to pull it through.”

The Jays fought back, but never took the lead. The closest Ray got was within one, 10-9, but Trinity went on a 7-2 run after that.

The Titans ended the third set with a Gretchen Weir kill and Katelyn Grinsteinner ace. Weir had four kills, while Grinsteinner added five kills, eight digs and two aces.

The third-set loss didn’t faze Ray. The Jays went back to their old ways and built up an early lead in the fourth.

Kendra Heier served up an ace to give Ray an 18-9 lead and the Jays put on the cruise control from there, ending it on a Corcoran kill.

“We were very happy with our performance,” Corcoran said. “That’s how we expect to play and we played really well together.”

Trinity sophomore Katie Dockter had team highs high 27 assists and 16 digs. Freshman Kennedy Keator had two aces.

“I think Kennedy is getting her mind to be where she can concentrate in the game,” Braaten said. “She’s already very solid on her serves.”

Defensively for Ray, the team had six players with 10 or more digs. Hodenfield, Paige Dolan and Taylor Nelson led the way with 13 digs each.

Despite not winning, Schieno said she couldn’t have been happier ending her high school career at the state tournament.

“I was really proud of my team,” Schieno said. “We could have done better as a team and we know it. All that matters to me is that I made it here on my senior year and I’m proud to end it with my team.”

Ray 25 25 20 25 — 3

Trinity 16 13 25 13 — 1

Kills: R, Olivia Corcoran 15, Hanna Gillund 12, Paige Dolan 8, Kendra Heier 7, Kendra Perdue 6. T, Alyson Schieno 21, Katelyn Grinsteinner 5, Gretchen Weir 4.

Blocks: R, Haley Hodenfield 1, Gillund 1. T, Schieno 1, Grinsteinner 1, Allison Steffan 1.

Aces: R, Heier 2, Hodenfield 2, Perdue 2. T, Kennedy Keator 2, Schieno 2, Ali Kovash 2, Grinsteinner 2.

Digs: R, Dolan 13, Taylor Nelson 13, Hodenfield 13, Heier 10, Gillund 10, Perdue 10. T, Katie Dockter 16, Schieno 12, Katelyn Rummel 9, Britney Schneider 9, Grinsteinner 8.

Assists: R, Hodenfield 34, Perdue 6. T, Dockter 27.

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