Sports News

With a 3-0 record, the Hillsboro Burros volleyball team sits at the top of the District 3 rankings.
They earned the top spot this week with a 3-2 win on the road against the Thompson Tommies Tuesday. The Burros won 25-12, 25-27, 26-24, 17-25 and 15-13.
In a contentious match, the Burros prevailed in what their coach called a true “team effort.”
“The girls came to play at Thompson,” commented coach Jamie Rerick. “They never gave up. Everybody played well and played as a team. They showed they wanted to play hard and win.”
Rerick noted a “great match” by junior middle hitter Ashley Doeden, who tallied 13 kills and six stuff blocks on the night.
“Ashley had a great reaction to the ball last night offensively and defensively.”
Katie Floberg and Brittany Wilson, both seniors, shined on defense. They notched 26 and 34 digs respectively.
“We passed the ball really well and that was the key to getting us off on a good start and it kept us going until the last point of the match,” Rerick said.
The Burros lacked that same spark at the 24-team Valley City Tournament last Saturday. They lost all three matches in pool play to Lakota, Lisbon and Jamestown JV.
“During pool play, the girls seemed a little sleepy and not prepared to play. However, we played very well against Lisbon but unfortunately we lost a very close match,” Rerick said.
The Broncos bested the Burros 31-29 and 17-17 in a time limit match.
Dropping into the consolation bracket, the Burros rebounded with wins over Central Valley (25-16, 25-22) and Midkota (25-17, 25-12).
In the semi-finals, Hillsboro met Central Cass for the second time in five days. Again the Squirrels took charge, winning 25-13, 25-20.
The Burros are now 9-8 for the season.
In their last home match Sept. 13, the Burros battled Norman County West. The visitors won 3-1.
“Norman County West has a lot of experience and is a very good team,” Rerick said. “We didn’t manage to keep up with them. I know we could have given them a good match but unfortunately, we didn’t do that.”
NCW came out strong in the first game, overwhelming the Burros 25-9. Hillsboro responded in the second but lost a close game, 23-25.
The Burros took control in the third game, 25-16 but couldn’t sustain their momentum and lost the fourth and decisive game, 19-25.
Rerick noted the play of three reserves — Sabrina Lenz, Kelsey Nagel and Kaci Cote for their “high intensity and consistent play.” Nagel had six kills and Lenz three.
The Burros are on the road Saturday for the Ulen-Hitterdal Tournament played in Ulen starting at 9 a.m.
The Burros travel to Central Valley Tuesday and Cooperstown Thursday for district matches.
The Burros will host their own tournament Sept. 29 at the Hillsboro Events Center.