Welcome to Kenmare

Feature Stories (Vol. 109 No. 46--11/14/2007)

KHS volleyball team returns
to State this week

By Caroline Downs

Our Redeemer’s Christian School had plenty of fans show up at the Minot Municipal Auditorium to cheer the Knights to a berth in the state tournament, but the Honkers crushed any hopes they had with a decisive 3-0 win in the Region 6 championship match.

The two teams met three times earlier during the season, with an epic battle resulting each time. During the regular season, the two opponents split their matches, with Kenmare winning 3-2 on the Knights’ court and ORCS taking a 3-2 victory in Honker territory.

In the District 12 championship, KHS came out ahead 3-1, with close game scores. The Knights had every motivation to avenge that loss and last year’s Region 6 title on Thursday, but they underestimated the dedication and focus of the Honkers, who won in three straight games 25,-17, 25-20 and 25-18.

Kenmare approached every corner of the court with patience and skill, digging up balls from apparently impossible angles and playing balls rolling out of the net. KHS head coach Tim Wallstrum was pleased, but not surprised, with the team’s performance.

"They were really fired up," he said as he described the two-hour cheering session the team held for themselves before the match against the Knights.

The Honkers established a pre-season goal to return to the state tournament, after their 2006 second place finish. Wallstrum knew the players’ desire to win the regional championship was strong, but even he was surprised at their behavior during their final practice after school Wednesday.

"We started with a chalk talk about what we wanted to do," he said, "then we held practice until about 5:25, and it was a great practice. I told them to get out of there and I left, but a few minutes later I had to go back to the gym for something. When I came back, they were all in there, still playing."

The tone for the championship victory was set in the opening play Thursday night, when Keri Nelson earned the first point in the match with one of her trademark and unanswerable kills from a Kendra Miller assist. Within the next few plays, Katelynn Gregoire had her first kill of the night and Nelson added a second, and Kenmare had a quick 5-2 lead.

The Knights fought back, however, and tied the game at 8-8. Then Stephanie Barnhart got busy for the Honkers and spiked the ball three times in a row. The KHS squad never looked back, as ORCS gave up points on two hitting errors, followed by another point on a Honkers’ block, for a 14-8 lead.

The Knights earned a point and the ball on a Kenmare service error, which only led to another Honkers scoring sequence that included a kill by Katie King, a Barnhart ace and a kill by Nelson to go up 17-9.

Again, ORCS had a reprieve after a Barnhart serve was stopped by the net, but Nelson and Gregoire responded with kills, King served an ace, and Dayna Froseth added insult to injury with a spike from the back row.

Kenmare stood at 22-10, and their pace slowed somewhat as the Knights demonstrated their own run of kills from Kelsey Beck, Rylie Ringoen and Tia Schuster, and service aces. The Honkers got back on track when a Nelson spike put them at game point, 24-16. Courtney Jacobsen answered with a kill to give her team 17 points, but on the next play, after ORCS returned a Froseth kill, Barnhart gently tipped the ball into the Knights’ court where it rolled at their feet while the Honkers celebrated the score.

The second game began much as the first, with both teams settling at a 5-5 tie before Kenmare pulled away on two kills and an ace. The teams traded points for a moment, then the Knights came through with their own series of points from Beck, Jacobsen and Schuster.

Nelson and King answered for the Honkers, but the KHS squad hit a wall at 14-10. A combination of hitting errors and missed digs stalled Kenmare at 15 points while ORCS pegged a 9-point streak, the last two on kills from Schuster.

Coach Wallstrum used a time-out to re-focus the Honkers. Kenmare responded with a Nelson kill after a wild volley that had both teams scrambling for balance, then continued a drive that included a Barnhart kill, two Nelson aces, a Barnhart tip that bounced off an ORCS player, a King block, a Barnhart kill that ended another long volley, and a Kendra Miller service ace.

The Knights managed one more point and called two time-outs to plan a recovery strategy, but to no avail. With Kenmare at 24-20, ORCS attempted a spike that flew out-of-bounds instead, giving the Honkers their second win.

Both teams started the third game cautiously, trading points. The Kenmare bench launched a series of steady cheers for the team, echoed by some of the KHS fans across the gym. The Honkers trailed 4-5, then pulled ahead with back-to-back Nelson kills. A net violation allowed the Knights to tie the game at 6-6, but Nelson and Barnhart both scored on spikes.

The cat-and-mouse chase continued, with Kenmare moving ahead a couple of points, only to see the Knights earn a point or two. The Honkers stretched their lead to 12-7, only to commit two errors and then see a hit by King blocked by Mataya Grigsby as ORCS added points to their total.

Again, Wallstrum called a time-out, and the Honkers returned to points from a Barnhart kill and a Kelsey Miller block. A spike from Schuster temporarily stalled Kenmare’s momentum as the Knights pulled to within three points, but the Honkers took flight again on a kill from Kelsey Miller and a King block.

Beck and Schuster scored points to put ORCS at 15-20, but Honkers fans were on their feet for the rest of the game shouting encouragement and waving signs. Barnhart slammed a kill for game point at 24-16. The Knights earned the ball back on a Honkers error and even served an ace, but Kenmare just needed to stay patient to earn the final game and match point, which came on a Knights’ mistake.

"There’s no words to explain it," said senior co-captain Katelynn Gregoire. "It’s nice to win regionals when you’re a senior."

"This is amazing," added senior co-captain Kelsey Miller. "We’re the seniors, and had to lead the team."

Both players praised their teammates for their cooperation on the court. "We’re all passing well," Gregoire said. "And we’re always getting back on the ball."

"We just played with a lot of heart," said Miller. "We came out ready to go!"

The pair expected the team to continue their hard work at practice before the state tournament. "We need to work on our defense and our serve reception," Miller said, "and stay fired up, no matter what!"

"There’s more pressure on us this year," added Gregoire. "We knew from the other teams [that] they expected us to go to state."

Highlights from the match included Barnhart leading all players with 14 kills, followed by Nelson with 12 and Froseth with 3.

Kendra Miller logged 33 assists to pace the offense.

King and Kendra Miller served 3 aces apiece, while Nelson had 2.

King had 4 blocks at the net, with Barnhart and Kelsey Miller at 2 each.

On defense, Barnhart racked up 15 digs, followed by Nelson with 14 and Macie Harris with 10.

Coach Wallstrum wore a broad smile after his team was handed the Region 6 championship plaque. "I’m very proud of them," he said. "They played together and they played well. They all did well, and they did their jobs."

He didn’t agree with his senior players that practices before the state tournament would have to be hard. "We will relax and have fun," he said, adding that the sessions could be short. "We’ve been practicing all year for this."

For third places honors in Region 6, Bottineau topped Bishop Ryan in a hard-fought 3-2 battle.

Nelson, Barnhart and Kendra Miller were named to the All-Region 6 team for the Honkers.

They were joined by Schuster, Jacobsen and Ringoen from ORCS, Elizabeth Grant of Bishop Ryan, Amber Ahman of DLB, Dakota Anderson and Courtney Thingstad of Velva, Maribeth Geizler and Abbey Aide of Bottineau, Vanessa Friestad and Lisa Schmaltz of Rugby, Stephanie Keller of TGU, and Olivia Christenson of Westhope-Newberg.

Geizler earned recognition as Region 6 Senior Athlete of the Year, with her coach Angie Bartholomay honored as the Region 6 Coach of the Year.

Honkers defeat
Lions in semi-finals
In Region 6 semi-finals play, Kenmare beat Bishop Ryan 3-0, with game scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-11.

Highlights from the match include Nelson with 16 kills to lead all players, followed by Barnhart with 14 and Kelsey Miller with 6.

Kendra Miller set up the offense with 37 assists.

At the net, Nelson had 2 blocks, while Gregoire and King each logged 1.

Barnhart served 3 aces, while Meghan Essler had 2 and Nelson 1.

On defense, Barnhart came up with 13 digs, while Nelson had 12 and Froseth 9.

Our Redeemer’s Christian School swept Bottineau 3-0 in the other Region 6 semi-finals match.

State begins Thursday
The Honkers will face Region 5 champion Center-Stanton in the opening round of the State Class B volleyball tournament at 2 pm on Thursday, November 15th, in Jamestown.

Other first round action will see Region 3 champion Langdon against Region 4 winner LaMoure, Region 7 victor Ray against Region 8 champion Dickinson Trinity, and Region 1 winner Thompson against Region 2 champion Lisbon.

Action continues Friday with consolation play at noon and 2 pm, and semi-finals at 6 pm and 8 pm.

On Saturday, 7th place matches for Class A and B will be played at 10 am. Fifth place matches are scheduled for noon, and third place matches at 2 pm. The Class B championship match will take place at 6 pm, followed by the Class A championship at 8 pm.

All matches will be played at the Jamestown Civic Center.

The Honkers realize Jamestown is a long distance for their friends, families and classmates to drive for the tournament, but they hope to see a large crowd there wearing maroon and gold. "Come watch us," said Kelsey Miller, "and we’ll show you what real Honkers are made of."

Gregoire nodded her agreement and added, "We can fly high, too!"