Norway’s Cayleah Clifford (14) and Addyson Burklund (1) rise at the net as North Dickinson’s Raina Ledzian (11) and Nadia Carpenter (8) defend during an MHSAA district final Thursday at Norway High School. The Knights won 3-1. They’ll face Ishpeming in a regional semifinal Tuesday at North Dickinson High School. (Mary Spera photo)

Norway dropped the first set against North Dickinson, but came back to win three straight to earn the MHSAA District 99 Division 4 volleyball championship at home Thursday.

“We came out very slow, but were able to change momentum in the second set and the remaining sets,” said Norway coach Meghan Rossato. “The girls were not ready to end their season and that potential forced them to get back on track.”

Scores in the four-set match were 21-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-20.

“Unfortunately our season is ending sooner than we wanted, but we have so much to be proud of, including our first conference title in 11 years.” said North Dickinson coach Taylor Johnson.

The Knights’ strategy was to make strategic plays as necessary, Rossato said.

“We sent a limited amount of free balls over, and were aggressive at the net,” she said. “Kendall (Burklund), Addy (Burklund), and Aili (Freiberg) connected and it was unstoppable.”

Norway also had efficient serving.

“Cayleah Clifford’s serves were tough to pick up, she came away with five aces,” Rossato said. “Aili continues to have strong serves, as well as Payton (Paquette). They really kept us going in several sets.”

Addy Burklund’s consistent digs helped Freiberg to reach 43 assists in the match.

“Kendall (Burklund) had a total dig count of 24 for the match,” Rossato noted. “She just reads and hustles. I’ve been coaching Kendall for several years between club and season and I’ve always told her, she is a born libero … she just happens to have a crazy vertical, which equates to a solid all-around player. Other coaches agreed and voted  for her to receive first-team honors for our conference.” 

Bench energy helped swing momentum Norway’s way, Rossato added.

“Allie Grable led that charge. I’ve coached her for three years now, and she understands what an impact that has on a team, she just gets it.”

Norway now turns to the regional tournament, facing Ishpeming at 6 p.m. Tuesday at North Dickinson High School.

“I give all of the credit to the girls, they wanted it, I was just there to guide and keep them on track,” Rossato said.

North Dickinson coach Johnson credited Ella Rossi for “an excellent match” at the net. “I also thought Dalaney Steinbrecher performed well at the serving line, and was able to get some runs going to keep us in the game,” she said.

Norway-ND stats:

Norway 

Aili Freiberg, 3 aces, 2 kills, 43 assists, 6 digs 

Payton Paquette, 2 aces, 6 digs 

Kendall Burklund, 1 ace, 22 kills, 1 block, 24 digs 

Cayleah Clifford, 5 aces, 7 kills, 1 block, 5 digs 

Ashley Carlson, 2 assists, 8 digs 

Anna deBidart, 1 ace, 7 digs 

Allie Grable, 1 dig 

Addy Burklund, 3 aces, 17 kills, 1 block, 16 digs 

Chloe Chartier, 1 kill, 3 blocks, 1 assist, 2 digs

North Dickinson

Dakota Massie, 2 kills, 2 aces, 15 digs

Aunika Lindholm, 1 kill, 3 digs

Aubrey Applekamp, 10 kills

Aspen Anderson, 1 dig

Nadia Carpenter, 1 ace, 8 digs

Ella Rossi, 4 kills, 2 aces, 5 digs, 3 blocks

Tatum Cherubini, 5 digs

Raina Ledzian, 2 kills, 21 assists, 3 aces, 12 digs

Dalaney Steinbrecher, 1 assist, 2 aces, 25 digs

Cami Sleeter, 7 kills, 4 digs, 1 block 

Forest Park 3

Wakefield-Marenisco 0

Forest Park won the District 97 Division 4 championship Thursday, defeating Wakefield-Marenisco 25-10, 25-14, 25-22. Hosting the district tournament, the Trojans defeated Ewen-Trout Creek 25-14, 25-21, 25-14 in Wednesday’s semifinal.

L’Anse will be the host for a regional semifinal Tuesday, as Forest Park faces the winner of Friday’s match between Hancock and Lake Linden-Hubbell.