Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Bay College’s Riley Johnson (2) spikes the ball against Hibbing Community College’s Emma DuChamp (10) and Alexia Carroll (right) Sunday in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — The Bay College Norse stood tall at the net here Sunday in a 3-0 (25-8, 25-19, 25-22) volleyball victory over Hibbing (Minn.) Community College.

Coleman, Wis. graduate Kylee Tadisch led the way with eight kills and six blocks, and Superior Central grads Riley Johnson and Emma Rutter also had eight kills.

The Norse often ran double and sometimes triple blocks in the opening set.

“We played very well today,” said Bay coach Dan Porath. “We had all our starters out there in the first set. We figured we’d steal some momentum right away, then put in a different lineup in the next two sets. That gave us a chance to see what we need to do better. Having enough depth to do that helps. They had only seven players, which made it tough. That didn’t give them many options.”

The Cardinals (0-3) tied the third set at 16 on a kill by freshman setter Alexia Carroll and were still within 18-17 after a two-hit violation by the Norse.

Bay led 24-18 following a passing error by the Cards, then committed several infractions of its own as Hibbing crept within 24-22.

A service error, however, foiled Hibbing’s plans of completing the comeback.

“These were our first matches of the year,” said Hibbing coach Kasey Palmer. “Lot of our girls are freshmen. This is a little faster pace than they’re used to. They definitely have some big hitters. Our tallest players are about 5-foot-7. We have to rely on our defense. We had a lot of mental errors, and the girls started getting down on themselves. Although, this was still a good weekend for us. This gave us a chance to do some bonding, and it was good for the girls to see this pace before we start conference play on Wednesday (against Mesabi).”

The Norse trailed 12-8 in the second set before a block by Tadisch started their comeback.

Freshman Kaydince Thoennes’ kill through a double block gave the Cards a 13-12 lead.

Bay then took the lead for good, surging to a 16-13 advantage on another block by Tadisch.

Amber Caylor, a freshman setter from Wausaukee, Wis., collected 29 assists and four service aces. Freshman libero/defensive specialist Tori Jandt had 24 digs. Leah Allan tallied 15, and Bark River-Harris grad Graci Varoni had eight.

Bay dropped Saturday’s opener 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21, 10-15) to Alpena Community College in front of a packed house, then defeated Hibbing 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-10).

Johnson led the Norse with 11 kills, and Rutter and Tadisch had eight apiece in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association opener against Alpena. Caylor finished with 33 assists and 17 digs. Jandt added 32 digs. Escanaba graduate Abigail Rexford collected 19, and Gladstone grad Alissa Sanville had 14.

The Lumberjacks (2-0) secured the opening match on a kill by sophomore middle hitter Allie DeRocher before taking a 3-0 decision from Hibbing.

Johnson then recorded nine kills, and Tadisch put down seven in Saturday’s nightcap against Hibbing. Caylor tallied 26 assists, nine service aces and five digs.

Jandt was the defensive leader with 16 digs, and Sanville contributed eight.

“It feels amazing to win one on our home floor,” said Johnson. “Having the large crowd really gave us an adrenalin rush. I thought we played real well, but a few errors on our part cost us the first match. Everything I’m doing now is different from high school. This is a faster game, although I think we’re all adjusting pretty well to that. We’re getting more used to running a faster offense.”

The Norse visit Milwaukee Area Tech Friday, then head to Madison College for matches against the host team and Dakota County (Minn.) Technical College Saturday.

“I think we’re ahead of where many people thought we’d be,” said Porath. “These girls are laying the foundation. How they play could determine how our program goes.”