Carney-Nadeau Serving Up Fast Start
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 13, 2020
CARNEY — It has often been said practice makes perfect.
So far that has applied to the Carney-Nadeau Wolves, who have won all 10 of their volleyball meets this season. They are ranked No. 9 in Division 4 by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association.
“We spend a lot of time together on and off the court,” said senior outside hitter Taylor Kedsch, who recorded 10 kills and four digs against Munising in the team’s most recent match last week. “That helps our communication and helps us jell as a team.
“We didn’t really expect to be undefeated, but we’ve worked hard. When we were under ‘stay at home’ orders (due to Covid-19), I did some weight training at home. Then, we got to a point (5-6 weeks later) where we could practice once a week. It definitely felt great to get together again.”
Senior hitter Liana Blahnik, who collected 12 service aces, seven kills, two blocks and eight digs against Munising, also stayed in shape by doing some workouts at home.
“We’re kicking off the season real well,” she said. “We’ve cleaned up a lot of things and been improving steadily. Having to wear a mask during matches and practices has worked real well for us. It’s safer and not much of a problem.”
Senior setter Haley Ernest tallied 26 assists and seven digs in her latest outing.
“I feel it’s working pretty well,” she said. “I look to see who’s hitting well. When (Coach Steve Kedsch) finds a hole, he lets us know. We work real well together. Our team chemistry and communication have really picked up. During the ‘stay at home’ orders, a friend of mine who’s in college and I would skype and do practices together, which I think really helped.”
Among the Wolves’ achievements is a 25-19, 25-17 triumph over Kingsford in the final round of their quadrangular meet Sept. 26.
“That was probably our best match,” said Taylor Kedsch. “We were doing pretty well defensively. I think our team is doing real well. We’re grateful for everything.”
Coach Kedsch has similar thoughts about this season.
“We were fortunate enough to know we were going to have a season,” he said. “The girls came into the season in pretty good shape. Our seniors did a good job leading the juniors and motivating them. Our role players are getting better. Mel Baumler and Mackenzie Walcher have kind of gone to a place where they needed to be. I give a lot of credit to the girls for accepting different roles. This is a different game from jayvees. This is a faster game. We can only control what we can control. We try to run a fast-paced game.”
Coach Kedsch says serving has been a key to the Wolves’ success.
“We knew we had good servers on this team,” he said. “But we’ve been serving more than 92 percent as a team which was a surprise.
“This has been such an enjoyable season for me. We’ve gotten great support from our assistant coaches Dale Harris and Maisy Johnson and we have a senior group that’s so dedicated to the sport. They’re very focused and doing well this season. Give credit to the kids for buying into the program, taking ownership and providing input.”
Next up for the Wolves is a trip to Peshtigo, Wis. Monday.
“Taylor and I play on a club team with some of the Peshtigo girls,” said Ernest. “We’ve gotten to know them pretty well. We can put a game plan together. It should be a good match.”
Blahnik is also looking forward to Monday’s match.
“I think that will be a good challenge,” she said. “We’re going to have to know where their strengths are and make our adjustments.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS: (Top) Carney-Nadeau’s Taylor Kedsch (10) unloads a spike against Bark River-Harris during a match this season. (Middle) The Wolves Liana Blahnik (9) spikes the ball against Crystal Falls Forest Park. (Photos courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.
New Coach, Same High Standard at Calumet
October 12, 2017
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA – A new coach is at the helm, but the tradition of excellent volleyball has carried on at Calumet High School.
The Copper Kings (27-6-2) are ranked sixth in the Class C state coaches poll this week as Matt Laho has added to the success established over the past 20 years by Lisa Twardzik. Calumet was Class C runner-up in 2008, a semifinalist in 2007 and 2016 and has won the past five Regional titles.
Calumet is the heart of a powerful volleyball program in the Copper Country, the northern-most region of the state. "We're not at the hockey status, but in the fall volleyball is a pretty big deal," said veteran Houghton volleyball coach John Christianson.
"Volleyball has become the in thing to do at schools up this way."
The two programs set the pace throughout the Upper Peninsula. They met recently with Calumet taking the decisive fifth match 15-11, and they meet again Tuesday at Houghton. They will also play in the Houghton tournament Saturday.
Laho, an assistant to Twardzik last year after spending several coaching and teaching in Wyoming after his graduation from Finlandia University, has put some of his own touches into the program while building on the foundation established by Twardzik.
"I soaked up as much as I can. She built Calumet into a volleyball powerhouse, and I want to continue that and try to keep that tradition alive," the Calumet fifth grade teacher said of trying to fill Twardzik's huge shoes.
He runs a middle-middle defense but said the emphasis is in different areas. "I have principles and philosophies and I build offense and defense systems around the players," Laho added.
Laho said Twardzik coached the "whole athlete, volleyball and academics and coached young women with fundamentals.
"Lisa always did a great job focusing on positive reinforcement. I do that too, but then I tell them here is where we go next," he said. His approach "lets them know things will be different. I let players know I will be open-minded."
The Copper Kings won an early-season tournament in Kingsford and last weekend won their pool at a 16-team tournament in Suttons Bay. "I'm very happy where we are at this point of the season," Laho said. "We have exceeded where we want to be at this point."
Laho said the team's strong suits are ball control, transition passing, defense and serving. "Our attacking, while not a weakness, can be more effective," he said.
Laho prefers everything "to be as simple as possible. I want things to become natural rather than to think about it on the floor."
Meanwhile, he takes a technical approach and gets a lot of individual feedback. "I have given them tiny tweaks to help them get better," he said.
"One thing they are noted for is defense, extremely disciplined defense," said Christianson. "Trying to find holes in their defense is difficult. And they are fundamentally really, really sound. They play with a mental focus, and they focus on the task at hand. And they have been blessed with some big, athletic girls, competitive girls."
A key player has been senior power hitter Lea Bjorn, "your prototypical hard-working athlete," said Laho. "She is a six-rotation player."
Other key players are seniors Ninia Anderson and Brea Johnson and juniors Celia Kiilunen and Brooke Kariniemi.
That group is following in the footsteps made by current Northern Michigan University spikers Janie Torola and Hailey Wickstrom.
This is also a tough team for opponents to dislike. "Their players are really nice people," said Christianson. "Their parents have raised them to be really nice ladies. It is a very good program with very good people."
Their reputation has spread across the Upper Peninsula and downstate as well.
"No doubt any place they go in the U.P., they are the standard bearer," said Christianson. "They set the bar, and the rest of us try to get there."
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Calumet celebrates winning the Kingsford Invitational in coach Matt Laho’s debut. (Middle) A pair of Calumet players puts up a block against Lake Linden-Hubbell last month. (Photos courtesy of Calumet’s athletic department.)