FARGO,N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Bismarck and Mandan are separated by a bridge, Jamestown and Valley City are separated by 30 miles, yet they will play one another Saturday in the the consolation bracket of the State Class A Volleyball tournament in Fargo.
Friday, Valley City came up time after time with big digs and pancakes defensively to keep rally’s going on the way to a 3-0 win over Bismarck in the consolation round of the tournament. The Hi-Liners won 25-21, 25-13, 25-23 to advance to Saturday’s consolation championship.
Unlike Thursday when Valley City started off good but finished poorly, Friday the Hi-Liners started poorly and ended good, which a hiccup in between. Valley City trailed 11-6 to the Demons in the first set but came back with a 10-1 run to take a 16-12 lead. But the Demons would tie it at 16 with a four point run. But the Hi-Liners would answer scoring the next four points to take a 20-16 lead on the way to a 25-21 win.
In set two, the roles were reversed, sort of. Valley City lead 11-6 at one point. But unlike the first set, the Hi-Liners did not let Bismarck get back in it. Valley City would use a 6-0 run to open up a 15-6 lead. Bismarck would get to within five at 18-13 but the Hi-Liners would score the last seven points to win the set 25-13.
In the final set, Valley City used a 4-0 run to take a 7-3 lead only to see Bismarck come back with a 16-6 run of its own to take a 19-13 lead. But back came Valley City with a 7-1 run to tie it at 20. Bismarck would get the next two points to take a 22-20 lead. But the Hi-Liners would end the set on a 5-1 run to win the set 25-23 and win the match 3-0.
Macy Olstad led the with a double-double, 13 kills and 12 digs. Cali Halgrimson had eight kills and 13 digs. Lindsey Noeske added five kills and eight digs. Dylann Diegel had a double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs. Natalie Lemnus added 11 assists and five digs. The defense was led by Alyssa Hatcher with 16 digs and Allysen Mathias with four blocks. As a team, Valley City had nine blocks and 80 digs.
Head coach Mattie Cruff says the Hi-Liners had a well rounded game.
Valley City improves to 18-13 on the season while Bismarck, who was swept for only the second time this season, falls to 21-9 overall. Coach Cruff says her players just had fun.
The Hi-Liners will now play Jamestown in the consolation championship.The Blue Jays swept Mandan in the other consolation semifinal
The Hi-Liners and Blue Jays match can be heard on 1490 AM KOVC/96.3 FM and newsdakota.com with coverage beginning at 11:30.