Opinions from Ricky Klaverkamp
Ellendale, ND (NewsDakota.com) – It’s that time of year again! Volleyball tournaments are about to begin and its the final year of 2 classes. This means the winner of this District 5 Tournament will be the final winner of the D5 Tourney. This year inside the District has seen a fair amount of parity and we enter the tournament with the top 4 teams all have wins and losses against each other which has lead to an interesting dynamic with seeding at the top of the bracket. 7 teams enter only 4 will advance here’s a look at the contenders.
#1 Edgeley/Kulm/Montpellier Rebels (5-1) vs BYE
Back to back years for the Rebels to sit on top of the District 5 standings. They are also the reigning District 5 Champions. This is the first time they have found themselves being the reigning champs since.. . well 2007 when they were just Edgeley/Kulm. Last year they had a tough fight with LaMoure-LM where they won in 5 sets. They would then lose to said Loboes in the Region 3 Title game in 4 sets. They are looking to repeat their performance from last year and the only District opponent to give them trouble this year was the Oakes Tornados who beat them in 4 outside of that only 2 teams took a set from them. Speaking of Oakes… they may be their Semifinal opponent.
Last District Title: 2023
Last Region Title: 2006 (As Edgeley-Kulm)
Best State Finish: 6th (1990 as Edgeley)
#4 Oakes Tornados (4-2) vs #5 Griggs/Midkota Titans (2-4) – 4:00 PM
Oakes had a chance to be the top team in the District 5, then they caught the injury bug which ended the season for one of their starters and took another out for the final 3 games of the season. They would lose to Carrington which sent them careening down the standings from 1st to 4th. Out of all the teams in District 5 their final 3 games were definitely the hardest with Carrington, #10 MPB and #1 Linton-HMB. They would struggle down the stretch only taking 1 set in the final 3 games but now they get to reset. They get Kassidy Jackson back as well adding extra veteranocity to the front line. The Tornados last year had a disappointing result in both District and Region Semifinals. They are a team loaded with seniors and they are hungry for a state berth which has thus far eluded them.
The Titans of Griggs/Midkota earned the 5 seed with wins against BCN and Ellendale. Do not let their record fool you. This team is good. This is the team that brought the Tornados to a 5 set barnburner in Midkota and beat an underrated Ellendale squad in 5 sets as well. They also have history with these Tornados in the postseason and I MEAN RECENT HISTORY. Last year Oakes beat them via sweep in the Region Qualifier match. The Titans have played in a qualifier match each of the last 4 years and this year they want to win a title and get back to the Region Tournament, something they haven’t been able to do for a couple years now and something this team is more than capable of doing.
Previous Match-up: Oct 8th Oakes 3-2 Griggs/Midkota (16-25, 25-14, 25-21, 22-25, 15-11)
Last District Title: Oakes (2019), Griggs/Midkota (Never)
Last Region Title: Oakes (2019), Griggs/Midkota (2011 as Midkota-R4)
Best State Finish: Oakes (2nd – 2018, 19), Griggs/Midkota (3rd-2011 as Midkota)
#2 Carrington Cardinals (5-1) vs Barnes County North Bison (0-6) – 25 mins after Game 1
The Cardinals denied the Tornados the #1 seed in the District Tournament and with that win it gave themselves a shot at the #1 seed. They would win their final District match but so would EKM which would deny them their 1st District 5 Regular Season Title since 2018 due to the Rebels having tie breaker over them. This season the Cardinals have been deadly against District foes. They are 16-4 in sets in District play. The only teams getting those set wins were the Rebels and Ellendale. The Cardinals are always contenders for the Regionals. They have made it to the Regions every year since joining the District 10 years ago and its only a recent development where they aren’t playing in the District Title match as they made it there for 8 straight years. The last couple of years however they’ve ran into hiccups: 2 years ago it was Oakes and last year it was those pesky Rebels. They haven’t won the title since 2021. The freshman from that team are now seniors. They want that taste of gold one last time.
The Bison have struggled this year. They have shining moments throughout the year including recently taking the Imperials from Napoleon-GS to 5 sets. They need to recapture that momentum however if they are going to go far this District Tournament. They haven’t made it out of the Districts since 2018 and they want to get back to the Region Tournament. After all winning brings more winning and that’s what they need right now for the program. Come out firing against Carrington and forget the regular season. As the old saying goes “it doesn’t matter how many games you win, it just matters when you start winning them.”
Previous Match-up: Oct 8th Carrington 3-0 BCN (25-7, 25-5, 25-11)
Last District Title: Carrington (2021), BCN (Never)
Last Region Title: Carrington (2013-Region 4), BCN (Never- Best Finish: Quarterfinals-2004, 07, 10, 16, 18)
Best State Finish: Carrington (3rd-2013), BCN (N/A)
#3 LaMoure-LM Loboes (4-2) vs #6 Ellendale Cardinals (1-5) – 25 mins after Game 2
The Loboes. The winning culture they have is outstanding. They have a dynasty and are defending said dynasty. They’ve played in the D5 Title game each of the last 3 years. They’ve made it to the Region Tourney every year dating back to 2009. They’re the reigning Region 3 champs as they made it to State last year beating EKM in the R3 title game which was a D5 title game rematch, which they lost. Yes they have been beaten twice by each of the top 2 seeds but does that actually matter to the Loboes? No of course not. They THRIVE in tourney play. The regular season for them is just preparing for moments like these just preparing them for the pressure of Tourney Time. If you beat them in the regular season they’re the ones to say “Oh isn’t that cool” then sweep you aside. Now that’s not to say their regular season hasn’t been good, far from it. They’ve once again been terrific! They’re riding a 9 set win streak entering into Tourney play! I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep the streak going.
The Cardinals have the home court advantage and are looking to make it back to the Regionals for the first time since 2020. They are a team of close but not close enough this year. They took Oakes to 5 sets this year and fell in that 5th set barely. They took Griggs/Midkota to 5 sets and lost barely in the 5th set. They took the opening set against EKM but fell in the next 3. If you switch a couple points in each of these matches we are looking at a Cardinal squad at either 3-3 or 4-2 in District play and sitting at probably a 2 or 3 seed however they cannot dwell on the past. They need to look at the future… and the future could very well be now for the Cards. They did get swept by these Loboes earlier this year but this is a completely different team from then and are riding a fair amount of momentum into the postseason. I’d expect they’d let some pent-up frustration as well to open up the tourney which is what they have to do to beat the Loboes.
Previous Match-up: Sept 17th LaMoure-LM 3-0 Ellendale (25-19, 25-13, 25-21)
Last District Title: LaMoure-LM (2022), Ellendale (2012)
Last Region Title: LaMoure-LM (2023), Ellendale (2005)
Best State Finish: LaMoure-LM (3 Time Champs 2015, 16, 17), Ellendale (6th- 2005)
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