Knights reign as district champs

Norway captured an MHSAA district volleyball championship in Division 3 on Thursday, defeating Manistique 3-1.

The victory marked a repeat district title for the Knights, who triumphed in Division 4 in 2025.

“The team was ready and they came out with fire,” said Knights coach Meghan Rossato.

The scores were 25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19.

“We knew coming in Manistique has a powerful defense so in order for us to remain in the game we had to commit to swinging, and that we did,” Rossato said.

Chloe Chartier, who had 10 kills, recorded a .360 percentage, while Addyson Burklund had 19 kills at a .267 clip. Another 13 kills came from Kendall Burklund.

“Kendall just celebrated over 500 career kills and digs while Addy celebrated her 100th career ace and they both showed tonight their skills,” Rossato said.

Emilee Temrowski and Lilli Sexton were steady at the serving line, each consistently serving at 100%. “When you have two just super-consistent servers it makes the pressure a bit less and they both showed up,” Rossato said. “Not only on the serving line, but defensively as well.”

Tessa Castelaz came in with several aces in a row which was “the flame to start the fire,” Rossato said. “Tessa didn't even serve last year, so her serving performance this year is impressive. She's been consistently working on her game for months and it shows,” she said.

The Knights also got “a spectacular performance” from Aili Freiberg, Rossato said.

“Her hands are flawless and I can't say enough about her placement of her sets and making balls playable for our attackers. She is not only a great player, but she is super coachable,” she said.

“I had 10 leaders show up and their passion for the game and dedication to the program showed,” Rossato continued. “This team has been hustling since August not only on the court but taking it off the court with team activities and it shows. I couldn't be prouder,” she said.

The Knights will face Calumet in a regional semifinal Tuesday, tentatively in Gwinn.

Norway stats:

Emilee Temrowski, 2 aces, 1 kill, 12 digs

Aili Freiberg, 1 ace, 37 assists, 11 digs

Kendall Burklund, 3 aces, 13 kills, 1 assist, 18 digs

Tessa Castelaz, 4 aces, 6 digs

Addyson Burklund, 1 ace, 19 kills, 1 assist, 1 block, 12 digs

Chloe Chartier, 10 kills, 2 blocks

Allie Grable, 8 digs

Lilli Sexton, 1 ace 9 digs

Deanna Cruz, 1 ace