Nov. 20—BISMARCK — Head coach Stacy Hanson wasn’t sure if it was the 9 a.m. start, but two-seeded May-Port-C-G began a bit slow in its North Dakota Division A state quarterfinal tilt.
The seventh-seeded Lakers jumped out to an early lead in the first set Thursday morning at the Bismarck Event Center.
But it didn’t take long for the Patriots to capture momentum.
May-Port-C-G embarked on an 8-2 run to close the opening set, capturing a 25-19 win. The Patriots battled for a 25-22 victory in the second and closed out the third 25-19 to complete the three-set sweep.
“It was not an easy 3-0 win,” Hanson said. “I think our intensity was a little bit low, so we had a slow start kind of going today. I don’t know if it’s the morning stuff, but both teams have to compete at the same time. Happy with the win, but we have to pick up our game if we want to compete tomorrow.”
May-Port-C-G was rolling by the third set, running out to a 7-0 advantage, which included two kills and a block from junior Paetyn Strand.
“We had to keep pushing points so they didn’t have a chance to get back in,” Strand said.
Though the Lakers found some rhythm as the final set progressed, they never came within more than three points of the Patriots.
“I think we had a lot of nerves,” senior Kiaza Carlson said. “We just came into the huddle and we were like, ‘We just gotta play.’ It’s just another game, we’re here, that’s all that matters. We came to play after that.”
Strand led May-Port-C-G with 11 kills, often scoring with her signature firecracker spikes at the net.
“She’s very full of energy all the time,” Carlson said. “It’s nice to be able to put a ball to her, and for her to put it down.”
Carlson was also effective, collecting nine kills with some clever attacks targeting the weak spots on Des Lacs-Burlington’s court. She collected 12 assists as well.
Carlson is one of the few players who logged court time in May-Port-C-G’s state tournament run two years ago.
She’s hoping that, with the first game out of the way, the Patriots will be ready for tomorrow’s semifinal.
“It was an early morning game, so we were kind of nervous about that,” Carlson said. “But we showed up and we got it done, and now we’ve got to focus on tomorrow. … the first game is to get the nerves out and after that it’s time we gotta go. It’s obviously nerve-wracking, it’s the state tournament, but it’s just another game. So we’ve got to remember that.”
Junior Kylie Kroeplin and sophomore Abby Sand earned five kills apiece. Junior Ella Flaten had a strong day distributing the ball, leading with 18 assists.
Senior Hudson Zerface tallied a team-high 22 digs and added a couple of service aces.
Senior Kennedy O’Connor led another strong defensive performance at the net, securing 2.5 blocks.
“She did a nice job getting touches,” Hanson said. “She’s a little undersized for a middle, but her timing is pretty good.”
The Patriots have yet to lose in the postseason, bringing in all the momentum from their run to the Region 2A tournament championship.
“After the Carrington game, I know we were all like OK, we can play pretty good,” Carlson said. “We’ve got to bring that to state. I don’t think we quite got that today, but we’re gonna bring that tomorrow.”
May-Port-C-G will take three-seeded Central Cass on Friday at 1 p.m.
The two teams have met twice this season. The Patriots won 2-0 on Sept. 6 and 3-2 on Sept. 30.
“Both of us are two different teams then we were at that point,” Central Cass head coach Dana Stansbery said. “They’re playing very good volleyball right now, and I feel like we’re playing our best volleyball now as well. … I think we’re going to see a good matchup tomorrow.”
Improved communication will be a focus for May-Port-C-G as their tournament run continues.
“I think we can do a little bit better on our communication and just overall hype,” Strand said.
Hanson said: “The girls said that after the match, ‘We have to work on that for tomorrow.’ We need to talk and communicate, because you’re not going to be able to give up those easy points and expect to do well with that. That’s all on them, communication-wise, intensity-wise, and hopefully they bring that tomorrow, we can compete a little bit more.”
