Sugarbeeters lock up No. 1 Seed at District 6C-East Tournament
Share
Tweet
Sugarbeeter seniors Rachel Gunderson (13) and Kourtney Hanson (5) team up to block the Bear attack during the first set of the 'Beeters 3-0 win on Senior Night, Saturday.
The Chinook Sugarbeeters locked up another District 6C-East Conference Championship this past weekend following sweeps of the number two and three seeds.
On Thursday the Sugarbeeters made the trip west to Gildford to take on the North Star Knights in a battle of the Districts two top teams. The Sugarbeeters left Gildford with a hard fought three set sweep of the Knights 25-21, 26-24 and 26-24.
Saturday the team honored its seniors prior to taking on the No. 3 seed Box Elder Bears and then proceeded to sweep away the visitors in straight sets 25-20, 25-19 and 25-18.
In Gildford the 'Beeters looked to take control early and they did just that with a 25-21 first set win.
Sets number two and three were very similar in that both teams were matching each others best effort nearly every point but in the end it was the Sugarbeeters that managed to pull a pair of 26-24 wins to sweep a very competitive North Star team 3-0.
Hanson led the offensive attack with 20 Kills in the win while sophomore Ginger Hauer served up 25 Assists for the 'Beeters and senior Megan Molyneaux dug up 16 balls.
"That was a huge win for us. North Star has a competitive squad and they always bring their best effort. We knew that we would have to match that in order to win. I was very pleased with the way that the team kept their composure and played through every point whether we were ahead or behind. It made the difference in some very close sets," said Head Coach Paula Molyneaux.
Saturday the 'Beeters were looking to take down another top 6C-East team when the Box elder Bears came to town.
Chinook again won in straight sets, however this match wasn't as close with Chinook taking the first set 25-21, the second 25-19 and the third 25-18.
Hanson again led the way with 17 Kills, Hauer set up the hitters with 18 Assists while also leading the team with 10 digs.
Senior Ashley MacLeod digs up a ball Saturday night as seniors Megan Molyneaux (4) and Lincy Johnson (22) help protect the back row. Right: The seniors were and their families were recognized prior to the start of the Varsity match Saturday night. Following their individual stroll onto the court the rest of their teammates joined them with gifts and balloons.
"Since it took 5 sets to beat Box Elder the first go round, we worked hard last week on defense and cleaning up our hitting errors. It paid off, as our hitting efficiency was .139, and defensively we really did a great job of picking up their tips. Our serving percentage was just under our goal at 89%, but all in all it was a great night," Molyneaux commented.
"It is always hard to step on the court ready to go on senior night, as it tends to be a little emotional, but this is a great group of senior girls who have worked hard on their game intensity. They definitely demonstrated those improvements as they stepped on the court ready to do battle Saturday night. In addition they have contributed outstanding leadership to our team this season and I look forward to continuing to work with them through the tournaments," Concluded Molyneaux.
The Sugarbeeters hosted Chester/Joplin-Inverness Tuesday evening and results will be included in next weeks paper.
The District 6C-East Tournament will be held in Gildford, October 25-26.
Chinook 3 North Star 0
Chinook 25 26 26
North Star 21 24 24
Chinook 3 Box Elder 0
Chinook 25 25 25
Hays/L.P. 20 19 18
