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Wolves cruise past Jets

Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Carney-Nadeau’s Taylor Kedsch spikes the ball against North Central’s Alex Neville (2) during a Division 4 District 99 opener Monday at North Central.

POWERS — The Carney-Nadeau volleyball team will move on to face Forest Park in the Division 4 District 99 semifinals after a dominant 3-0 (25-8, 25-7, 25-13) win over the North Central Jets here Monday in a district opener.

The Jets finished 0-19.

In the first set, the Wolves (25-5-4) set the tone for the match immediately when Zoey Poupore strung together an eight-point service run and two aces to gain a sizable advantage.

A Wolves’ hit out-of-bounds and a misplay gave North Central an opportunity, but it couldn’t capitalize other than an ace from Maddie Dani.

“I thought our serving was probably the highlight of the night,” Wolves’ coach Steve Kedsch said. “Zoey had a nice service run in the beginning there that kind of set the tone.”

Carney’s momentum powered it through the first set alongside a six-point run from Jules Thoune and a five-point run from Sandra Boulton.

North Central interjected points here and there but failed to hold onto possession for more than a few points.

“I thought the girls did a good job controlling the match tonight,” Kedsch said. “I didn’t think we did anything special. We were just moving well, passing and playing good defense. I give our kids credit for just being in control tonight.”

A spike from Carney’s Taylor Kedsch forced a Jets’ shot into the net to end the set.

In the second set, Kedsch gave the Wolves a 19-5 cushion with an eight-point service run and a five-point run from Poupore finished the set.

“I want to absolutely congratulate the Carney-Nadeau Wolves,” Jets’ coach Rick Mick said. “They have a great team, and I wish them the best in the rest of the tournament.”

The third set kicked off with four aces in a row from Poupore inside a five-point run. Shortly after, Dani put together a short run to cut the Jets’ deficit to 9-6.

The Wolves later padded their lead with a seven-point run from Liana Blahnik.

A short run from North Central’s Bree Arsenault pushed its score to double digits for the first time, but the Jets couldn’t overcome their deficit.

“There’s a combination of things that led to us getting a few more points in the third set, but the girls, once again, didn’t quit,” Mick said. “Even in the end, when you can see the writing on the wall and you put the bench in the game, they didn’t quit. You have to give it to our seniors. They played their hearts out, and I left them on the floor as much as I could.

“I congratulated them on a good season, even without any wins. I feel like there was a lot of improvement on our team, and I’m proud of each and every one of them.”

Carney hosts Forest Park Wednesday for a district semifinal match.

“We’ve got to prepare for Mercedes Simmons,” coach Kedsch said.

“She’s the biggest part of their offense. I think if we can control the ball like we did tonight our chances are very good.

I feel this district has four of the top five Division 4 teams in the U.P., and I think whoever gets out of it will have a good chance to do some damage in the regionals.”

Carney-Nadeau

Aces — Poupore 10, Boulton 5, Blahnik 3, Kedsch 2, Thoune 2; kills — Kedsch 7, Boulton 6, Blahnik 5, Thoune 2, Ernest 1, DeBacker 1, Kirschner 1; blocks — Ernest 5, Blahnik 1; assists — Ernest 15, Thoune 3, Kirschner 1; digs — Ernest 4, Thoune 4, Boulton 4, Blahnik 3, Poupore 2, DeBacker 1.

North Central

Aces — M. Dani 2, B. Arsenault 1, Borucki 1; kills — B. Arsenault 3, A. Arsenault 1; blocks — B. Arsenault 1, Borucki 1, Grondine 1; assists — M. Dani 3, J. Dani 1, T. Dani 1; digs — A. Arsenault 4, M. Dani 2, Borucki 2, B. Arsenault 1, T. Dani 1.

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