September 12, 2012

Spikers down Raiders to win own tourney

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

The wins are coming easy for the Watford City varsity girls volleyball team this season. This past week, the Wolves extended their dual record to 4-0 as the Wolves knocked off Tioga and New Town in three quick sets before coming back to win the Watford City Invitational Tournament.
This week, the Wolves will be at home as Watford City hosts Beulah on Thursday and Ray on Tuesday, Sept. 18.
Watford City 3, Tioga 0
Watford City had 17 service aces and 23 kills as the Wolves cruised by the Tioga Pirates in three quick games by scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-20 last Tuesday.
“Tioga has an aggressive team and we worked on specialty plays to keep their blockers guessing,” stated Nancy Deutsch, Wolves’ head coach on the win. “We are improving on our passing and our hitters are getting excellent sets from Tori Hopkins.”
Taylor Dwyer led the Wolves with four service aces, while Katie Mogen and McKayla Haugeberg each had nine kills. Defensively, Haugeberg led the Wolves with 13 digs.
Individual statistics for Watford City from the match were as follows:
Aces: Taylor Dwyer, 4; McKayla Haugeberg, 3; Tori Hopkins, 3; Jessica Brown, 3; Amanda Mogen, 2; Tessa Dwyer, 2.
Kills: Katie Mogen, 9; Haugeberg, 9; A. Mogen, 8; Brown, 5; Taylor Dwyer, 2.
Assists: Hopkins, 25; Taylor Dwyer, 1; K. Mogen, 1; Haugeberg, 1; Brown, 1.
Blocks: K. Mogen, 1.
Digs: Haugeberg, 13; A. Mogen, 4; Taylor Dwyer, 3; Brown, 2; Kara Langerud, 2; Hopkins, 1; Tessa Dwyer, 1.
Watford City 3, New Town 0
New Town had no answer for Watford City’s hard hits and scrambling defense as the Wolves defeated the Eagles 25-21, 25-11 and 25-18 last Thursday.
“New Town has improved from last season, but they still struggled with both our offense and defense,” stated Deutsch. “We are always on the attack offensively and defensively.”
The Wolves’ strong offensive play led to 11 service aces and 36 kills.
McKayla Haugeberg led the Wolves offensively and defensively with seven service aces, nine kills and 13 digs, while Tori Hopkins had 31 assists.
Individual statistics for Watford City from the match were as follows:
Aces: McKayla Haugeberg, 7; Amanda Mogen, 2; Taylor Dwyer, 1; Jessica Brown, 1.
Kills: Haugeberg, 9; Brown, 8; Katie Mogen, 7; Taylor Dwyer, 6; Amanda Mogen, 5; Tori Hopkins, 1.
Assists: Hopkins, 31; Taylor Dwyer, 2; Haugeberg, 1; Allison Monsen, 1.
Blocks: Brown, 1; A. Mogen, 1.
Digs: Haugeberg, 13; A. Mogen, 12; Tessa Dwyer, 7; Taylor Dwyer, 5; Brown, 5; Kara Langerud, 4; Tarynn Jacobson, 2; Hopkins, 2.
Watford City Invitational
It was nearly a clean sweep for the Wolves on Saturday as the girls varsity team won the Gold Division of the Watford City Invitational Tournament, while the junior varsity team was the runner-up in the Silver Division.
“We had two teams in the tournament, but with some of our players missing due to the high school rodeo as well as competing in other sports, we played the tournament a little short of players,” stated Nancy Deutsch, Wolves’ head coach.
But even playing short, the Wolves varsity team was dominate as Watford City went 7-1 in pool play to advance to the Gold Division of the tournament.
In pool play, the varsity defeated Williston Trinity Christian, 25-20 and 25-14, before sweeping the Stanley JV team 25-17 and 25-20. In the final match of pool play, the Wolves split with Richardton-Taylor with Watford City taking the first game, 27-25, and the Raiders taking the second game, 25-21.
In the first round of the tournament, the Wolves swept Divide County 2-0 by scores of 25-14 and 25-18 before knocking off Williston Trinity Christian 25-20 and 26-24.
“After playing a close match with Divide County earlier this season, I was a little worried about playing them again,” stated Deutsch. “But our girls went out with a lot of confidence and overpowered them.”
Likewise, the Wolves had little trouble with the Trinity Christian Crusaders in the semifinals as Watford City picked up wins of 25-14 and 25-18 to advance to the title match.
In the championship game against Richardton-Taylor, the Wolves not only were able to avenge their earlier loss to the Raiders, but they did so easily. Watford City cruised by the Raiders, 25-16, in the first game and then took the second game, 25-20.
“Against Richardton-Taylor, McKayla Haugeberg set the tempo for the match and the team stepped up,” stated Deutsch. “The girls worked hard and had fun at the same time.”
Cumulative individual statistics for Watford City from the tournament  were as follows:
Aces: Tori Hopkins, 14; McKayla Haugeberg, 13; Jessica Brown, 9; Amanda Mogen, 4; Katie Mogen, 2.
Kills: A. Mogen, 29; Haugeberg, 28; K. Mogen, 19; Taylor Dwyer, 12; Brown, 10; Hopkins, 9
Assists: Hopkins, 68; Taylor Dwyer, 5; K. Mogen, 3; Brown, 3; Haugeberg, 1; A. Mogen, 1.
Blocks: K. Mogen, 10; Brown, 4; A. Mogen, 2.
Digs: Haugeberg, 52; A. Mogen, 23; Taylor Dwyer, 12; Hopkins, 11; Brown, 5; Allison Monsen, 3; Tessa Dwyer, 3; K. Mogen, 1.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER