East wins North Dakota Optimist Club’s All-Star volleyball match by 3-1
The North Dakota Optimist Club’s All-Star volleyball match took place on Tuesday between East All-Stars and the West All-Stars.
The Shanley High School was witness to an exciting display of volleyball skill that took four long and gruelling sets to reach their close. When the match had ended, the loudest hoots were coming from the East as they had just handed out a defeat to West
at 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22.
After a close first set which the East ended up losing, they started off the second set with renewed determination. Despite the fact that the West kept it close all through, they could not stop East from scoring the final points in each of the last three
sets of the game.
Kaitlyn Carlson, who played on the East side made the following comments at the end of the match, “It was great getting to play one last time. It wasn't about doing good or bad, it was about coming back to my home gym.”
Emily Asche was able to lead East by making the highest number of kills at 15, also scoring a point at one ace. She also made seven blocks, which were the highest on her team. Asche was helped by Hillary Rotunda who kept the scoreboard ticking by making
11 kills and assisted in three blocks. Carlson made her presence felt by adding nine kills of her own that were supported by four blocks.
On the West side, the players that stood prominent were Jess Herauf and Niki Schmitz. Herauf was able to keep the pressure on the East side by making 17 kills, which were more than the kills made by any player on the opposing team. Apart from the kills,
Herauf was also able to make two blocks. Schmitz helped by adding nine kills of her own, accompanied by two blocks.
Herauf was the key player that led the West side to win the first set at 25-23. After that, the second and the third sets were bagged by East.
The fourth set of the game took on a highly competitive tone. It was important for West to secure a win to get a winning chance at the game while East did not want to take the match to a fifth set. As a result, the match saw a total of five lead changes
take place. No one was sure where the tables would turn as the scores were still tied at 21-21. However, East was able to gather their wits about them and take control of the match by securing a lead at 22-21 which translated into fourth set as well as the
final match win at 25-22.
Both the East and the West sides are scheduled to meet again later today. The venue of the match is Century High School.
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