Local Sports

Kingsford, Forest Park, Norway capture district championships

Kingsford, Norway, Forest Park and North Dickinson advanced to volleyball district championship matches with victories Wednesday.

Three of the four captured district titles Thursday.

West Iron, meanwhile, was unable to get past Painesdale Jeffers in a Division 3 semifinal Wednesday.

In Division 2 at Kingsford, the Flivvers defeated Negaunee 3-1 on Wednesday with three of the four sets decided by just two points. Kingsford won 25-23, 25-27, 25-23, 25-18 and moved on to host Houghton in the District 33 final.

The Flivvers defeated Houghton 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-17) on Thursday to claim the district title.

Norway hosted Iron Mountain on Wednesday in a Division 3 district semifinal and won 3-2 after dropping the first two sets. The match went 17-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-11.

With the victory over the Mountaineers, the Knights hosted Manistique for the District 66 title on Thursday and came away with the championship.

In Division 4, Forest Park eliminated North Central in District 99 with a 3-0 win, 25-15, 25-16, 25-12. North Dickinson also advanced to Thursday’s district title match with a 3-0 win over Stephenson -- 25-19, 25-13, 25-18.

The visiting Lady Trojans prevailed over the Nordics 3-0 (25-15, 25-5, 25-10) in the district final.

Painesdale Jeffers swept West Iron 3-0 in Division 3’s District 65, winning 25-19, 25-17, 25-21. The Jets will host Calumet on Friday for the district title.

For more coverage of the district tournaments, please see Saturday’s edition of The Daily News.

Norway 3, Iron Mountain 2

Norway overcame what coach Meghan Rossato described as “a funk” in the first two sets Wednesday.

“I can't say enough about how proud I am of these girls,” Rossato said. “Hats off to (coach) Emma (Cronkright) and Iron Mountain on a great fight that made for an incredibly exciting and anxiety-filled game. Good luck to their seniors on their future.”

Kendall Burklund had a total of 19 kills and Addyson Burklund added 15 for the Knights. Aili Freiberg totaled 37 assists.

“Addyson, Kendall and Emilee (Temrowski) were forces at the net,” Rossato said. “Our defense was key because we not only picked up the ball, but got it to Freiberg so she could easily set up our hitters.”

Lilli Sexton and Allie Grable contributed crucial digs for the Knights.

Norway stats:

Chloe Cartier, 4 kills, 1 assist, 5 digs

Aili Freiberg, 2 aces, 37 assists, 6 digs

Addyson Burklund, 2 aces, 15 kills, 11 digs, 2 assists

Kendall Burklund, 1 ace, 19 kills, 3 assists, 19 digs

Emilee Temrowski, 3 aces, 7 kills, 1 assist, 25 digs

Lilli Sexton, 1 assist, 12 digs

Tessa Castelaz, 3 aces, 1 kill, 2 digs

Allie Grable, 9 digs

Deanna Cruz, 1 ace

North Dickinson 3, Stephenson 0

Stephenson played a fundamentally sound game Wednesday, but North Dickinson was able to establish a faster pace and build momentum through its energy and aggressiveness, said Nordics coach Taylor Johnson.

“Aunika Lindholm did an excellent job distributing the ball and varying our attack, keeping Stephenson’s defense off balance and allowing our hitters to take advantage of opportunities,” Johnson said.

North Dickinson stats:

Carli Jungwirth, 5 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 13 digs

Aunika Lindholm, 2 kills, 25 assists, 1 ace, 12 digs

Alle Brown, 3 digs

Aspen Anderson, 4 kills, 3 aces, 12 digs

Kathryn Steinbrecher, 5 kills, 1 block

Ella Rossi, 10 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 1 dig

Khloe Roberts, 5 kills, 9 digs

Dalaney Steinbrecher, 1 assist, 4 aces, 20 digs