The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Chinook Sugarbeeters were looking to bounce back this week after a couple of disappointing losses the week before. Bounce back they did, the 'Beeters headed to Box Elder Thursday night and dominated the Bears in a 25-1, 25-1, 25-4 sweep. On Saturday they were back at home to take on Chester/Joplin-Inverness. Chinook continued to roll, defeating the Hawks in straight sets 25-13, 25-15,25-13.

Chinook saw Box Elder take a 1-0 lead to start the opening set but a hitting error on the next service point evened the score at 1-1. From that point on it was all Chinook, senior Bree Swanson served out the set.

Junior Hallie Neibauer drilled a Kill right down the middle to start the 'Beeter run. Swanson served six Aces with a few hitting errors from the Bears mixed in. Sophomore Rilee Molyneaux scored from the back row to keep the streak going. Junior Mya Berreth made a perfect set to junior Teagan Richman for another Kill and Swanson served up four more Aces to give Chinook a 25-1 opening set win.

Neibauer would began set number two at the serving line and continued the trend with four Aces before subbing out. The 'Beeters would end up scoring 44 straight points over the course of the first two sets. The Bears finally netted a point to make the score 19-1. Chinook took set number two 25-1.

The third set was more of the same with Neibauer adding few more Aces to her stat line and sophomore Ashlyn Jensen picking up a couple of Kills. The 'Beeters won the third set 25-4 to earn the sweep.

Chinook had struggled from time to time coming in with their serve. Thursday night they connected on 72 of 73 serves with 23 Aces mixed in.

Saturday in Chinook the Chester/Joplin Inverness Hawks took the court to take on the Sugarbeeters. The 'Beeters once again came out swinging.

Neibauer started the match off with a powerful slam to score the first point of the night. Senior Lexi Pitkanen added a Kill moments later for a 10-4 'Beeter lead.

Molyneaux powered home a Kill down the line to keep the 'Beeter momentum going. Berreth was on target all night long with her sets and after placing the ball perfectly for Neibauer and Swanson to score Kills, Chinook had taken a 17-10 lead.

The 'Beets continued to bring the attack to the Hawks. Richman scored with a nice tip, Berreth again found Molyneaux for a big swing. Swanson drilled a huge swing off the fingertips of a Hawks defender. Molyneaux closed out the first set with yet another Kill, providing the final point of a 25-13 first set win for the 'Beeters.

Set number two started off with both teams trading points. Molyneaux stretched the lead to two with another Kill and a 7-5 'Beeter advantage.

Both teams struggled a bit in the middle portion of the set with service errors and hitting errors accounting for much of the scoring. Chinook soon got back on track with a corner Kill from Swanson and a pair of Aces from Berreth to take 23-14 lead. Neibauer slammed home another Kill and a misplay from Chester/J-I closed out set number two with a Chinook 25-15 win.

Junior Setter Mya Berreth did a fantastic job setting up the hitters with 23 Assists in the win over the Hawks.

In what would be the final set of the match, the Sugarbeeters were again aggressive with their attack. Molyneaux and Neibauer scored on back to back Kills. Sophomore Addison Olsen served up an Ace and a Kill from Swanson had the Hawks doubled up 12-6.

Chinook would close out the Hawks with a 25-13 third set win to complete the sweep. The 'Beeter attack was paced by Molyneaux with 12 Kills. Berreth set the hitters up with 23 Assists, Swanson dug up 11 balls to lead the team. Neibauer collected five Blocks in the win.

"I was pleased with the team and how they rebounded from our tough losses to Fort Benton and Highwood. They worked hard all week and played well against Chester/Joplin-Inverness earning a needed conference win," said Head Coach Paula Molyneaux.

Chinook will be in Gildford on Friday to take on North Star and Centerville Saturday to face the Miners.