North Dickinson senior Jessica Harwath (2) dumps the ball over the Superior Central block on Thursday at Carl F. Lemin Gymnasium. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

FELCH TOWNSHIP — A high energy environment often brings sporting events to a different level. And on Thursday, that was certainly the case as the North Dickinson varsity volleyball team faced off with Superior Central in a Skyline Central Conference clash at the Carl. F. Lemin Gymnasium.

Prior to the announcement of the starting lineups, 11 North Dickinson boys emerged from a hallway in an assortment of Nordic cheerleading uniforms, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“We didn’t know it was coming so it was a huge surprise,” Nordics head coach Taylor Johnson said. “But it’s so nice to see a supportive student body. … It’s like having another player out there, it’s really a great boost.”

North Dickinson used that energy to its advantage and swept the Cougars, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-20).

“This was really fun,” Johnson said. “It was probably the most fun that we’ve had all season. It was really exciting to have such a competitive match against a conference team in our own gym.”

Although the Nordics managed to dominate Superior Central, Cougars’ freshman Kylie Stuer provided them with a challenge in the form of pressure at the net.

“She is a hitter,” Johnson said. “I think they did a good job of not letting her get in a rhythm. Because she had a couple of hits there in the second, where she was starting to get excited and do well. I think they did a good job of containing her. They didn’t let her get the easy ones and they didn’t let her take the game away from us. I thought we did a good job of covering and recovering from our mistakes.”

North Dickinson opened the first set on an 11-7 run as the noise in the gym reached a fever pitch. The Cougars weren’t going down without a fight and they cut the lead to two points.

However, Superior Central committed five attack errors down the stretch as it dropped the set 25-17.

Raina Ledzian helped the Nordics carry their momentum into the second with two quick aces. Aubre Applekamp added two kills and the lead was 5-1 in favor of the home team.

“When Aubrey is on, she is on and she’s our go-to hitter,” Johnson said. “She has come so far this season, even from a few weeks ago, she’s a totally different player.

“She’s playing really strong volleyball right now.”

The lead would grow until it hit 16-10 and then things got interesting as Stuer tallied four straight kills. Suddenly, the Nordics were trailing.

They didn’t panic and tied things at 18 as Mary Grace Holmes came to the service line. She held serve for eight-straight points and the Nordics locked up set two, 25-18.

“I am so excited to have her back there, because she had a thumb injury that took her out for about a month,” Johnson said. “So we’re slowly reintroducing her but I think tonight was a breakthrough moment for her this season. It was really encouraging to see her have success.”

With a two-set lead, North Dickinson began to test out new lineups.

“We got to try three different rotations,” Johnson said. “So we got to try some of our what-if scenarios and see that we can be successful with some adversity. That was nice.”

One of those lineups included moving libero Kiira Ledzian to the front line.

“Kiira is a hitter at heart,” Johnson said. “She loves to be at the net. But she’s so good as a libero that I don’t get to do it very often. I saw the opportunity and everyone was hyped up and in a great mood, I’m like, ‘let’s do it.’ If she’s successful, that’s going to elevate us even more. We wanted her to get that moment and bring the energy up.”

Kiira Ledzian did just that, coming up with an early block that energized the crowd and pushed the Nordics to a 25-20 win in the third.

She led North Dickinson defensively with 23 digs while tallying two kills and a block.

The Nordics also received contributions from Hailee Siegler (8 digs, 2 aces), Jessica Harway (5 kills, 10 digs, 1 ace), Applekamp (8 kills, 1 assist, 2 digs, 2 blocks), Dakota Massie (2 kills, 8 digs, 1 ace), Maddie Miller (1 assist, 3 digs), Hope Schuiteman (1 assist, 2 digs), Raina Ledzian (6 kills, 17 assists, 13 digs, 3 aces, 2 blocks), Nadia Carpenter (1 assist, 2 digs), Cami Sleeter (4 kills, 1 assist, 1 dig, 1 block) and Holmes (1 kill, 10 digs).

North Dickinson is in Rapid River on Tuesday.

LadyCats 3, Patriots 1

FLORENCE, Wis. — The Florence varsity volleyball team hosted parents night and “Spike Out Cancer” on Thursday.

With the gym full of pink, the LadyCats put on a show for those in attendance and picked up a 3-1 (25-10, 25-9, 23-25, 25-15) Northern Lakes Conference win over Goodman-Pembine.

“We tweaked the line up just a bit and tried something different,” Florence head coach Teresa Chrisman said. “And we played great for two sets. For us to get to the next level we need to get over the mental lapses. Credit to Goodman/Pembine, they are much improved and are scrappy.”

Although the LadyCats have racked up a 24-8-1 record so far, coach Chrisman has been working on improved hitting with her squad. On Thursday, that paid off.

“The team as a whole had a great hitting percentage,” coach Chrisman said. “Something we’ve been wanting to improve, to be more efficient, and we did that.”

Senior Kamdan Johnson dominated at the net, ending with 22 kills while carrying a .429 hitting percentage. She also had three assists, four aces and eight digs.

Kelsi Chrisman led the LadyCats’ defense with 13 digs, while tallying 18 assists, seven kills, three aces and a perfect serving percentage.

Florence also received contributions from Sammie Demuri (7 kills, 15 assists, 4 aces, 6 digs, 1 solo block), Ashlyn VanDenHeuvel (7 kills, 2 digs), Miley VanDenHeuvel (6 kills, 3 digs, 1 solo block), Ashley Peterson (1 kill, 3 digs), Audrey Franz (1 assist, 7 aces, 9 digs) and Naomi Millan (11 digs, 2 kills, 4 assists).

The Lady Cats travel to Elcho, Wis. on Thursday.

Flivvers 3,Miners 0

NEGAUNEE — After falling to Calumet earlier in the week, the Kingsford varsity volleyball team bounced back with a sweep against Negaunee on Thursday as it rolled to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-20) road win.

The Flivvers are now 20-4 on the season while the Miners fall to 11-5-1.

Senior Maddy Kreider posted another triple double in the Flivvers’ win. She ended the day with 14 digs, 18 assists and 10 kills while tallying two aces.

Kingsford also received contributions from Anna Bortolini (14 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace, 8 kills), Alyssa Larson (4 digs, 12 assists, 1 ace, 1 kill), Ellery Nash (12 digs, 2 aces), Jenna Viau (14 digs, 2 aces), Mylee Kreider (2 digs, 3 kills), Kailey Sundquist (2 digs, 1 ace, 9 kills, 1 block), Cassie Olson (2 digs, 6 kills), Mya Brunswick (5 digs, 1 kill), Adelyn Normand (1 dig), Karly Trevillian (3 digs, 4 assists) and Chloe Blazer (7 digs, 1 assist).

The Flivvers are back at Flivver Gym on Tuesday for a matchup with Iron Mountain.