District volleyball: White River, Philip on collision course in 13B

By Joshua Russo, Journal staff | Monday, November 03, 2008

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RAPID CITY — Between them, White River and Philip only have five losses in 61 matches.

But only one volleyball squad will make it past Thursday.

The Class B district volleyball district tournaments begin Tuesday with several key matches. But the District 13B race will be one to watch.

The tournament begins Tuesday in Murdo with No. 4 seed Kadoka Area (5-22 overall) playing No. 5 Crazy Horse (0-16) for the right to play top-seeded White River (29-2). On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Philip (27-3) will play No. 3 Jones County (14-13). The two remaining teams will play for the district championship at 6 p.m. MST on Thursday. All matches will be in Murdo.

Philip coach Kim Bouman knows the challenge ahead for Scotties.

White River has earned its record with scrappy play. They are not a tall team, but they place the ball in the right spots, are good at hustling and make good choices.

“I just hope that we play well,” Bouman said. “We haven’t put together a match where we have played as well as we can.”

Though they are the second seed, Philip was competitive in its losses to good teams.

“It means a lot to lose to Harding County and White River,” Bouman said.

The Scotties will be led by Sierra Hook and Marissa Mann — two players that come up big with kills when the team needs them. Mann is the spark on the team, Bouman said. She has 248 kills, 33 block-kills and 280 digs this year while also serving 91 percent.

Hook has 300 kills, 52 block-kills, and is 86 percent serving.

“We’ve just got to be able to put together a match,” Bouman said. “We need to come together and play well.”

The District 14B bracket will also be tough, and it can go to any one of three teams.

Top seed Edgemont (23-7), the host school for districts, will await the winner of the Rapid City Christian (5-21) and Oelrichs (3-12) match-up on Tuesday. New Underwood (17-13) and Wall (14-14) will square off Tuesday for the other spot in the district championship match, which will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

New Underwood coach Scott McDonald is pleasantly surprised with his team’s play, but he said his team must receive serves better and be more aggressive to make it through the district bracket.

Leading the Tigers will be middle hitters Laura Barber and Teri Heavlin. Barber is the mainstay of the team, McDonald said, and the most consistent hitter on the squad at 84 percent. Heavlin is the leading server at 94 percent.

Edgemont has emerged as a power in the district this year because of cohesiveness. The players have been together for several years and know what each will do on the floor. Wall, a power in the district, was hit hard by graduation a year ago, but the school has experience in major matches.

Edgemont coach Randy Stevens said his team had a goal of going to state in ’08. And they are well on their way with a turnaround from 15-16 last year.

Stevens said the girls worked hard in camps and became a better squad. Several of the girls played as eighth graders, so Stevens has coached the girls for several years. The squad only has two seniors, which is good news for Moguls fans.

The Moguls go-to player is Liz Humiston. “She’s just got a drive like no other,” Stevens said. “When we’re struggling, you can look for her to get us back into it. She is just a good athlete. She is someone every coach just wants.”

In District 16B Harding County (27-4) looks to have a tough hold, having an unblemished record against district competition this season.

The Ranchers have the top seed and will play either Takini (7-14) or Bison (6-19). On the other side of the bracket, Lemmon (19-9) will play the winner of Faith (11-15) and Dupree (3-19). The championship match will be at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“Everybody pulls together and puts a win on the scoreboard,” said Ranchers coach Tammy Bruha. “It’s pretty nice to have a solid team. We’re pretty excited for the postseason.”

Lemmon or Faith could pose a challenge only because they played Harding County early in the season.

In 15B play Thursday in Herried, top seed Timber Lake (15-9) awaits the winner of Herried (8-17) and Tiospaye Topa (5-15). Selby Area (14-13) will play McIntosh-Isabel (10-15) for the other spot in the championship game on Friday at 7 p.m.