-
volleyball
CRYSTAL FALLS — In recent years, the Carney-Nadeau Wolves have been one of the top volleyball teams in the Upper Peninsula, regardless of division. The Wolves have had talent across the board - big hitters, standout setters, powerful servers and a tight defense.
The Forest Park Lady Trojans have seen this up close and personal as the two schools are regular competitors. And FP saw it again in the Division 4 District 99 semifinal on Nov. 4 when C-N defeated the Lady Trojans 25-9, 25-9, 25-14 in Carney.
One night later, the Wolves went on to capture their fifth straight district with another three-set win, this time over North Dickinson 25-8, 25-8, 25-9.
“We lost in three to a phenomenal volleyball team,” FP coach Bobbie Anderson said the day after her team’s match. “Carney is a fundamentally strong team, and they were on top of their game last night. We knew we would have to play our best game in order to win and unfortunately we came up short.”
According to the Escanaba Daily Press, the Wolves grabbed a 16-2 lead in the first set behind the serving of Liana Blahnik. The Lady Trojans (2-8) cut the cap to nine but were unable to get closer.
The second set was more of the same. In the third set, FP clawed back from nine down to 16-13 as junior Rayven Jacobsen put together a five-point serving run.
Jacobsen finished with seven assists, five digs, three kills, a block and an ace. Freshman Ema Stepien topped the Lady Trojans with five kills and a block.
“She had a great game and really impressed us this season,” Anderson said of Stepien.
Junior Gracie Peterson led the Lady Trojans in digs with eight, while sophomore Ashlynn Kannich stood out with four kills, four digs and two aces.
Senior Aubrianna Ahola had four digs and classmate Paige Mianecki added three digs, an ace and an assist. Senior Megan Bucek finished with an assist, a dig and a block.
Seniors Elaina Perry and Macy Johnson also played their last matches for the Lady Trojans.
“We have five seniors leaving us this year,” Anderson said. “They will definitely be hard to replace. They were great leaders on and off the court over the last four years. However, I know they have exciting futures ahead.”
Anderson continued her post-match reflection with a look back at the strange 2020 season, which was decimated with cancellations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was definitely an unusual season for us, we played a total of 10 games. We learned to take our season one day at a time and to enjoy every opportunity we got to play.
“The girls on both the JV and varsity deserve a lot of credit. They showed up every day and did everything we asked of them. There were times during our season when we didn’t even know if we would have another game. The girls never complained, and they continued to show up and work hard. That says a lot about their character.”