Forest Park senior Ava Fischer, center, who reached 1,000 career kills in a volleyball match Tuesday against West Iron, receives congratulations from varsity coach Bobbie Anderson, left, and junior varsity coach Lindsey Anderson. (Courtesy photo)

Heading into Thursday night’s game against host Superior Central, the North Dickinson volleyball team had only played one five-set match this season, a 3-2 triumph over Iron Mountain on Sept. 15.

The Nordics engaged in their second such match against the Cougars and came out on top again with a 19-25, 25-23, 25-19 17-25, 15-9 Skyline Central Conference rollercoaster victory at Eben Junction.

“It was a really competitive night, with great energy on the court,” ND coach Taylor Johnson said. “We came out a little slow in the first set, but once we settled in it was a battle.”

Johnson said that defending against Superior Central’s 5-foot-10-inch sophomore middle Kylie Stuer was imperative for her squad.

“(Stuer) played a tough match for Superior Central, but I thought Aubrey Applekamp and Ella Rossi did a nice job hanging with her and getting hands on her hits,” Johnson said.

Applekamp and Rossi combined for five blocks in the match with Applekamp leading the Nordics (12-9-2) with three. Applekamp also supplied 11 kills to tie for team-best with Cami Sleeter.

The Nordics also needed to serve well to help neutralize a strong player like Stuer, Johnson said.

“The serving of Dakota Massie, Alle Brown, and Tatum Cherubini was a huge help to us in not giving up the easy points for Superior Central to capitalize on.”

Massie paced the Nordics with seven aces and Raina Ledzian fired two to go with one each from Cherubini and Nadia Carpenter.

Ledzian topped her team with 27 assists along with adding six kills, five digs and two blocks.

“Raina played a smart game for us and was able to feed our hot hitters to gain momentum,” Johnson said.

Defensively, Dalaney Steinbrecher led the Nordics with 26 digs. Massie chipped in with 12, Cherubini contributed 11 and Sleeter recorded seven.

The Nordics are scheduled to host Rapid River on Tuesday.

North Dickinson stats

Dakota Massie, 3 kills, 1 assist, 7 aces, 12 digs

Aunika Lindholm, 2 digs

Aubrey Applekamp, 11 kills, 2 digs, 3 blocks

Nadia Carpenter, 3 assists, 1 ace, 4 digs

Ella Rossi, 4 kills, 2 blocks

Tatum Cherubini, 1 ace, 11 digs

Rania Ledzian, 6 kills, 27 assists, 2 aces, 5 digs, 2 blocks

Dalaney Steinbrecher, 1 kill, 26 digs

Cami Sleeter, 11 kills, 7 digs

Forest Park 3

Munising 1

At Munising, Forest Park managed a 25-13, 25-20, 20-25, 25-16 win.

“Munising is always a tough place for us to play, especially after a long bus ride and a busy Homecoming week,” said Trojans coach Bobbie Anderson. “We started strong in the first set, hitting and serving well. The second set tightened up toward the end, and in the third set, we got a little too comfortable and let the pressure off.”

Despite the victory, Forest Park had too many unforced errors, Anderson said.

“Munising has two strong middle blockers, and we made things too easy for them,” she said. “In the fourth set, we regained our momentum and took control from start to finish. Munising’s libero had a great match and really made us work for our kills,” Anderson added.

The Trojans will compete today in the Escanaba Elks Invitational.

Forest Park stats:

Ava Fischer, 23 kills, 1 block, 16 kills, 1 ace

Harper Anderson, 5 kills, 1 assist, 10 digs, 2 aces

Evie Anderson, 6 kills, 1 assist, 1 block, 13 digs

Lily Curnow, 11 digs

Tessa Bartoszek, 2 assists, 2 digs

Elsie Williams, 4 kills, 26 assists, 16 digs

Josie Anderson, 9 kills, 1 block, 5 digs, 8 aces

Haven VanSickle, 1 dig

Vienna Price, 17 assists, 6 digs

Kallie Evers Margoni, 3 digs

Florence 3

Crandon 0

At Crandon, Florence prevailed 25-10, 25-13 and 25-15.

“All around it was a well balanced attack,” said LadyCats coach Teresa Chrisman. “Miley VanDenHeuvel was a force and notched 14 kills.”

Sami Demuri, Ashlyn VanDenHeuvel and Kelsi Chrisman added nine kills each.

“We limited our errors and it showed,” coach Chrisman said. “As a team we had six aces on the night and only six missed serves out of 74 attempts. That is a recipe for winning, and everyone had high hitting percentages.”

Ashlyn VanDenHeuvel led with 16 digs while Kelsi Chrisman led with 20 assists. Demuri had 100% serving. “Ashley Peterson is continuing to improve in the back row,” Chrisman said.

Florence is on the road to La Crosse Aquinas for a 12-team invitational today.

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News Editor Jim Anderson contributed