Midgets run out of gas

The Dickinson High volleyball team was like a high-performance car in its first game of a match against Bismarck High on Tuesday night.

The trouble was, toward the end of Game 3, the Midgets ran out of gas.

After a rousing win in the opening game, Dickinson trailed all of Game 2 and then lost a big lead in Game 3. The Demons cruised in Game 4 to seal a 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-11 West Region victory at the DHS gymnasium.

"The bottom line was, we had to find a way to win the third," Dickinson coach Jay Schobinger said. "We gave them too much momentum."

With only one day of legitimate practice under their belts -- the flu decimated the team last week and continues to plague them -- it was plain to see the Midgets' struggles in the final two games.

Dickinson built an 11-2 advantage in Game 3 and looked to be cruising when Bismarck senior Annie Assel, who had a match-high 17 kills, helped spark a slow and steady comeback with a pair of kills and a block.

Soon, all the Demons got into the act and rolled off a 5-1 run -- highlighted by two uncontested stuff spikes from Josette Glatt and Twila Moser, who had 16 kills -- to cut Dickinson's lead to 16-13.

Then, a 7-2 run keyed by a pair of Anna Hruby kills gave Bismarck a 20-18 advantage.

Hruby had seven kills and led the Demons with 23 digs and six aces.

"Our goal today was to better the ball when we got it," Bismarck coach Jessica Andersen said. "When we got the ball today, they did something good with it."

Dickinson tied the game at 21 and again at 23 but had a return hit the roof, giving the Demons game point. Glatt then slammed home a kill to seal the win.

Bismarck built a 7-1 lead in Game 4 and later scored nine unanswered points to go up 18-4. Dickinson battled back with five straight of its own, but the damage was done and, leading 20-11, Assel started a 5-0 run with a kill and capped it with an ace to win the match.

Assel said the Demons (24-6, 12-1 West) figured out Dickinson well after a shaky first game.

"They did a little bit of different things from previous times that we played them, so it was a lot of adjusting," Assel said.

The Demons lead early in the first game but the Midgets (19-10, 5-4 West) used a 10-2 run to take a 21-15 lead. They soon closed out the win.

Jess Herauf, who missed four days of school last week, led the Midgets with 12 kills and three aces. Katie Hewson added 10 kills and Leslie Beaudoin had six kills and five blocks.

The Midgets must rebound from the loss quickly. They travel to Jamestown for a 6 p.m. match today.

"They played hard," Dickinson coach Jay Schobinger said. "We didn't have a whole lot run smoothly. We weren't what I'd call 'in system.' We weren't flowing.

"... If that's the No. 1 team in the state of North Dakota right now, I kind of like our chances when we get there (the playoffs)."

BHS 19 25 25 25 -- 3

DHS 25 21 23 11 -- 1

Kills: BHS, Annie Assel 17, Twila Moser 16, Anna Hruby 7, Katie Weigel 5. DHS, Jess Herauf 12, Katie Hewson 10, Leslie Beaudoin 6.

Blocks: BHS, Moser 3, Weigel 2. DHS, Beaudoin 5, Hewson 2, Herauf 1.

Aces: BHS, Hruby 6, Emilie Vetter 3, Assel 2. DHS, Herauf 3, Madison Deibert 3.

Digs: BHS, Hruby 23, Eden Schmidt 22, Assel 21, Vetter 20. DHS, Justine Braunagel 24, Deibert 21, Herauf 18.

Assists: BHS, KaSara Rudolph 43. DHS, Kara Froelich 28.

Records: DHS 19-10, 5-4 West Region; BHS 24-6, 12-1 West Region.