Wolves come up short
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
With the way that the Wolves played in the District 15 Volleyball Tournament, it looked like this was finally going to be the year that Watford City was going to make a return visit to the State Class B Volleyball Tournament.
And it kept looking like those chances were going to come to a reality as the Wolves blasted Burke County in three sets in the opening round of the Region 8 Tournament last Monday.
And when Watford City defeated Stanley, a team that has made repeated trips to State and was the State Runner-Up last year, in the semi-final game on Tuesday, the Wolves had just one more team to beat and the Wolves would have met the goal that they had set for themselves at the start of the season.
Unfortunately for Watford City, the Ray Jays had the same hopes and dreams of a trip to State. And on Thursday night, it was the Jays who walked off the court as the Region 8 Champions with the Wolves having to settle for a very unhappy ending to an otherwise successful season.
Region 8 Tournament
First Round
Watford City 3, Burke County 0
Watford City’s offense definitely was firing on all cylinders in opening round play of the Region 8 Tournament last Monday against Burke County.
The Wolves had 21 service aces and 28 kills as Watford City overpowered the Titans in three quick games by scores of 25-14, 25-20 and 25-9.
“We were on the attack all night at the net,” stated Nancy Deutsch, Wolves’ head coach. “And our aggressive defense never gave Burke County a chance to get into the game.”
McKayla Haugeberg had a stellar night for the Wolves as she had 10 service aces, seven kills and nine digs for Watford City, while Tori Hopkins had 19 sets and Amanda Mogen had 14 digs.
Individual statistics for Watford City from the match were as follows:
Aces: McKayla Haugeberg, 10; Tori Hopkins, 5; Taylor Dwyer, 3; Tessa Dwyer, 2; Jessica Brown, 1.
Kills: Haugeberg, 7; K. Mogen, 7; Amanda Mogen, 5; Taylor Dwyer, 4; Brown, 3; Allison Monsen, 1; Ricki Lindley, 1.
Assists: Hopkins, 19; A. Mogen 4; Taylor Dwyer, 1; K. Mogen, 1; Haugeberg, 1.
Blocks: K. Mogen, 2; Brown, 2.
Digs: A. Mogen, 14; Tessa Dwyer, 10; Haugeberg, 9; Taylor Dwyer, 5; Brown, 4; Kara Langerud, 3; K. Mogen, 2; Hopkins, 2; Tarynn Jacobson, 1.
Region 8 Tournament
Semifinals
Watford City 3, Stanley 0
After losing its first game 25-14 to Stanley in the Region 8 semifinals, Watford City made some defensive adjustments on their blocking patterns that turned the momentum in the Wolves’ favor.
“The first game was a real test for us,” stated Deutsch. “But we changed our rotation at the net to match up with their power hitter, Chai Pappa. And that change made all the difference in the next three games for us.”
In a hard-fought second game, Watford City defeated the Blue Jays 25-13 and then got by Stanley 25-18 in the third game.
The Wolves then punched their ticket to the Region 8 title game winning the fourth and decisive game 25-20.
“We were very pumped up for Stanley,” stated Deutsch. “We knew we had to play very aggressive against them. It was a very exciting match to win.”
Taylor Dwyer and McKayla Haugeberg led the Wolves offensively with five service aces and 11 kills, respectively.
Defensively, Katie Mogen had four blocks while Haugeberg had 16 digs.
Individual statistics for Watford City from the match were as follows:
Aces: Taylor Dwyer, 5; McKayla Haugeberg, 3; Tori Hopkins, 3; Amanda Mogen, 1; Kara Langerud, 1.
Kills: Haugeberg, 11; Katie Mogen, 6; A. Mogen, 6; Taylor Dwyer, 4; Jessica Brown, 1; Hopkins, 1; Langerud, 1.
Assists: Hopkins, 23; Taylor Dwyer, 1.
Blocks: K. Mogen, 4; Brown, 3; A. Mogen, 1.
Digs: Haugeberg, 16; A. Mogen, 15; Tessa Dwyer, 12; Taylor Dwyer, 5; Brown, 3; Hopkins, 3; Langerud, 3; K. Mogen, 1.
Region 8 Tournament
Championship
Ray 3, Watford City 0
Watford City had more than its share of chances to win the first two games of the Region 8 Championship game against the Ray Jays on Thursday night. But every time that it seemed the Wolves had the Jays on the rope, Ray would find a way to pull out the win.
That scenario definitely played out in the first two games as the Jays edged the Wolves 27-25 in the first game and then battled back to win the second game 25-22.
“Emotions were high for us and we hit the court ready to play,” stated Deutsch. “The girls played their hearts out. We had some good plays but a few mistakes hurt us.”
Going into the third game down 2-0, the Wolves kept the game close until the end when Ray took the final five points to claim the Region 8 title with a 25-20 win over the Wolves.
McKayla Haugeberg led the Wolves with five service aces while Amanda Mogen had 10 kills at the net. On defensive, Haugeberg had 15 digs while Katie Mogen had three blocks.
Individual statistics for Watford City from the match were as follows:
Aces: McKayla Haugeberg, 5; Taylor Dwyer, 2; Jessica Brown, 1; Amanda Mogen, 1.
Kills: A. Mogen, 10; Haugeberg, 6; Katie Mogen, 5; Taylor Dwyer, 3; Brown, 3; Tori Hopkins, 1.
Assists: Hopkins, 23; Brown, 2.
Blocks: K. Mogen, 3; Brown, 2.
Digs: Haugeberg, 15; Tessa Dwyer, 10; A. Mogen, 8; Kara Langerud, 8; Hopkins, 7; Taylor Dwyer, 4; Brown, 3; K. Mogen, 2.