CARNEY — The Carney-Nadeau Wolves gained momentum early, but the Stephenson Eagles eventually took it over in a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) volleyball victory in a Division 4 district championship match here Thursday night.

This marked the first district title in seven years for the Eagles, who face Forest Park in a regional opener Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CST) in Norway.

“They played tough,” said Stephenson junior Mattie Prestin, who collected seven service aces. “It was a hard-fought match on both sides. This was a good match to be part of. We came up short last year, so this one feels real good. Carney-Nadeau has a good team. When you’re playing your rival, it brings up your energy level.”

C-N was in the hunt nearly all the way, closing within 23-21 on a kill by senior Hailey DeGrave.

The Wolves then committed a service error before an ace by sophomore Jazmyn Havelka sealed the verdict.

“It was just a great effort by our girls,” said Wolves’ coach Steve Kedsch. “We got into part of the rotation where we didn’t have any hitters in the front row and that put us in a situation where we had to go with freeballs. We made a little change in our lineup because one of our girls (sophomore Mariska Laurila) was sick, although that’s not an excuse. Stephenson is a solid team all the way around.”

Stephenson led 14-7 following a kill by sophomore Maddie Vista.

The Wolves, however, shaved their deficit to 16-12 on a cross-court kill by junior Kaitlyn Jackson.

C-N then trailed 18-12 after a two-hit violation prior to taking advantage of three miscues by the Eagles to climb within three points.

The Wolves tied the score at 19 on a kill by sophomore Gracie DuPont before the Eagles regained the lead on a serving miscue.

“Carney-Nadeau has a good team,” said first-year Stephenson coach Jackson Miller. “They’re well coached. It’s unfortunate one of their girls was sick, but you go with the kids you have and we were able to take advantage of it. This was a tough match. The girls played hard.”

The Wolves led 22-15 in the opener before a defensive miscue gave the Eagles a sideout.

Sophomore Melissa Johnson then served for seven straight points, helping the Eagles take a 23-22 lead.

The Wolves tied the score on a kill by freshman Elodie Lenca before the Eagles regained the lead and clinched the opener on an ace by Prestin.

“I was definitely a little nervous when we fell behind in the first set, but the girls got out of it and that gave us some momentum,” said Miller.

Stephenson gained a 12-6 lead on a Wolves’ defensive miscue in the second set.

An ace by senior Marissa Thompson brought C-N within 14-11

The Eagles then scored the next three points to go up 17-11.

Back-to-back aces by DuPont enabled C-N to climb within 17-15. The Wolves, however, were unable to get any closer.

“I was impressed with how this young team responded,” said Kedsch. “This was a great experience for them. It took an hour and 20 minutes to play three sets which indicates there were a lot of long volleys.”

Junior Mia Hauser provided the Eagles with 12 kills. Vista added seven kills and junior setter Kayla Swanson recorded 20 assists. Senior libero Kassidy Havelka was their defensive leader with 14 digs.

Lenca led the Wolves at the net with nine kills. DuPont finished with four aces and nine digs. Junior setter Samantha Kedsch tallied 15 assists and 10 digs and classmate Veronica Lawrence Smits had 16 digs.

Stephenson — Prestin (seven aces); K. Havelka (one ace, 14 digs); Johnson (one ace, eight digs); Hauser (12 kills); Vista (seven kills); Swanson (20 assists).

Carney-Nadeau — DuPont (four aces, nine digs); Thompson (three aces, seven digs); Lenca (two aces, nine kills, five digs); Kedsch (two aces, two kills, 15 assists, 10 digs); Jackson (three hits, two digs); DeGrave (two kills, two blocks); Lawrence-Smits (16 digs); Accord (three digs).