ENDERLIN, N.D. -- Wyndmere wins with finesse, Central Cass with power.
Both styles have earned the teams a spot in the North Dakota Class B, Region 1 volleyball finals.
The Warriors and Squirrels each garnered 3-0 victories Monday night in the Region 1 semifinals at the Enderlin High School gymnasium.
Wyndmere defeated Kindred
25-17, 25-21, 25-17 and Central Cass topped Northern Cass 25-17, 25-22, 25-7 to move both teams one victory from a berth in the state tournament.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Warriors and Squirrels are scheduled to square off for a state tournament berth at 7 p.m. tonight at Enderlin High School.
Wyndmere used a series of well-placed tips and finesse shots to get past Kindred in the semifinals.
The Warriors (26-7) also used a variety of players.
Jackie Sanden, LaNell Staroba, Tori Mauch and Chelsey Heitkamp each had five kills or more for Wyndmere.
Middle hitters Sanden and Staroba had 10 kills apiece to lead the Warriors.
"We have two really good middle hitters," Wyndmere coach Krissi Super said. "Teams always try to key on them. But it's not like we go to the same people all the time. You can't play like that and win."
Sanden, the Warriors most powerful hitter, led the way with five kills in the first game.
It was Mauch's turn in Game 2.
ADVERTISEMENT
The junior outside hitter accounted for seven of the Warriors' 25 points.
Staroba had four kills in Game 3.
"They could really place it in our open spots," Kindred coach Polly Roe said. "I just felt like we weren't passing that well tonight. We didn't play aggressive, we played more defensive."
The Squirrels, who have advanced to state three-consecutive seasons, used power and defense to dispatch Northern Cass.
Central Cass flustered the Jaguars by getting a hand on nearly every attempted attack at the net or in the back row.
Senior middle hitter Sarah Rommesmo led Central Cass with 13 kills and three blocks.
"They played really well," Northern Cass coach Jerry Daily said. "They key for them was their defense. It was just outstanding. They dug everything."
The Squirrels (28-9-1) finished their match with a 10-2 run in Game 3.
ADVERTISEMENT
"This team has the right mix of people," Rommesmo said. "We've all played together since the 7th or 8th grade. We kind of just mesh together. We kind of just fit."
KINDRED (kills-blocks-aces): Roe 2-0-2 (10 assists), Bernstein 4-0-0 (5 digs), Lunder 3-0-0, Kokleberg 1-0-0, Toppen 1-0-0, Jensen 1-0-0, Johnson 4-2-1, Odegaard 2-2-0, Olson 0-0-2.
WYNDMERE: Sanden 10-2-1, Staroba 10-3-1 (13 digs), Mauch 8-0-0, Heitkamp 5-0-0, Krause 0-0-3 (23 assists).
NORTHERN CASS (kills-blocks-aces): King 5-1-0, Olson 3-3-0, Sorvaag 4-0-0, Jones 0-1-2 (18 digs), Kyllo 0-0-1, Leraas 0-0-0 (16 assists).
CENTRAL CASS: Kapaun 1-0-0, Hejl 0-0-1, Springer 8-0-3, Braaten 0-0-1 (35 assists), Rommesmo 13-3-0, Gebeke 4-0-2, Sinner 0-0-1, Zimmerman 1-0-0, Chizek 5-0-0, Hagen 5-0-0 (19 digs).
Readers can reach Forum reporter Heath Hotzler at (701) 241-5562
