Carney-Nadeau Serving Up Fast Start
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 13, 2020
CARNEY — It has often been said practice makes perfect.
So far that has applied to the Carney-Nadeau Wolves, who have won all 10 of their volleyball meets this season. They are ranked No. 9 in Division 4 by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association.
“We spend a lot of time together on and off the court,” said senior outside hitter Taylor Kedsch, who recorded 10 kills and four digs against Munising in the team’s most recent match last week. “That helps our communication and helps us jell as a team.
“We didn’t really expect to be undefeated, but we’ve worked hard. When we were under ‘stay at home’ orders (due to Covid-19), I did some weight training at home. Then, we got to a point (5-6 weeks later) where we could practice once a week. It definitely felt great to get together again.”
Senior hitter Liana Blahnik, who collected 12 service aces, seven kills, two blocks and eight digs against Munising, also stayed in shape by doing some workouts at home.
“We’re kicking off the season real well,” she said. “We’ve cleaned up a lot of things and been improving steadily. Having to wear a mask during matches and practices has worked real well for us. It’s safer and not much of a problem.”
Senior setter Haley Ernest tallied 26 assists and seven digs in her latest outing.
“I feel it’s working pretty well,” she said. “I look to see who’s hitting well. When (Coach Steve Kedsch) finds a hole, he lets us know. We work real well together. Our team chemistry and communication have really picked up. During the ‘stay at home’ orders, a friend of mine who’s in college and I would skype and do practices together, which I think really helped.”
Among the Wolves’ achievements is a 25-19, 25-17 triumph over Kingsford in the final round of their quadrangular meet Sept. 26.
“That was probably our best match,” said Taylor Kedsch. “We were doing pretty well defensively. I think our team is doing real well. We’re grateful for everything.”
Coach Kedsch has similar thoughts about this season.
“We were fortunate enough to know we were going to have a season,” he said. “The girls came into the season in pretty good shape. Our seniors did a good job leading the juniors and motivating them. Our role players are getting better. Mel Baumler and Mackenzie Walcher have kind of gone to a place where they needed to be. I give a lot of credit to the girls for accepting different roles. This is a different game from jayvees. This is a faster game. We can only control what we can control. We try to run a fast-paced game.”
Coach Kedsch says serving has been a key to the Wolves’ success.
“We knew we had good servers on this team,” he said. “But we’ve been serving more than 92 percent as a team which was a surprise.
“This has been such an enjoyable season for me. We’ve gotten great support from our assistant coaches Dale Harris and Maisy Johnson and we have a senior group that’s so dedicated to the sport. They’re very focused and doing well this season. Give credit to the kids for buying into the program, taking ownership and providing input.”
Next up for the Wolves is a trip to Peshtigo, Wis. Monday.
“Taylor and I play on a club team with some of the Peshtigo girls,” said Ernest. “We’ve gotten to know them pretty well. We can put a game plan together. It should be a good match.”
Blahnik is also looking forward to Monday’s match.
“I think that will be a good challenge,” she said. “We’re going to have to know where their strengths are and make our adjustments.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS: (Top) Carney-Nadeau’s Taylor Kedsch (10) unloads a spike against Bark River-Harris during a match this season. (Middle) The Wolves Liana Blahnik (9) spikes the ball against Crystal Falls Forest Park. (Photos courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 6 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 1, 2025
Just a few weeks ago, we got this inaugural "Block Party" started. And this week, we've already surpassed the midpoint of the 2025 girls volleyball regular season.
District tournament play begins is just a little more than four weeks, on Monday, Nov. 3. But even now, every match counts as we're in the second year of using Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) to determine seeding of the top two teams in every District. Click to link above to see how teams stack up not only in their entire Division but also in their District with pairings set to be assigned Oct. 26.
Records, results and schedules below are those posted for teams on MHSAA.com. Rankings reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Plymouth Christian Academy d. Mendon (25-12, 25-12) A 5-0 day for Division 3 No. 3 PCA (24-5-0) at the Division 3-4 Showdown included this most notable win over the Division 4 top-ranked Hornets (21-3-1).
2. Farmington Hills Mercy d. Utica Eisenhower (17-25, 25-13, 15-13) After losing the first set, Division 1 No. 3 Mercy (12-2-0) rebounded to even the score and then hold off No. 6 Eisenhower (19-2-1) in the match decider at the Motor City Power Series.
3. Mendon d. Battle Creek St. Philip (25-18, 16-25, 25-16, 25-21) Coming off a 3-2 run at the Division 3-4 Showdown, Mendon continued to justify its Division 4 No. 1 status with this win over the No. 3 Tigers (16-9-4).
4. Battle Creek Lakeview d. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (19-25, 25-18, 15-10) Lakeview (25-5-5) finished 4-0-1 at its invitational, with the tie also against the Division 2 No. 6 Cougars (19-8-1) before winning the rematch in three sets.
5. Grand Rapids South Christian d. Frankenmuth (25-16, 28-26) This Motor City Power Series matchup pitted the Division 2 No. 8 Sailors (14-7-0) and now-No. 10 Eagles (9-6-4), who entered the weekend ranked Nos. 8 and 7, respectively.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Byron Center (19-4-0) The Bulldogs went 13-2 in September and remain an honorable mention in the latest poll after an open weekend. They most recently went 4-0 at their Cristi Curtis Memorial Invitational, and their losses this fall have come against No. 1 Rockford, No. 5 Jenison, No. 8 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and honorable mention Lowell. Byron Center will get a second chance against Jenison on Oct. 16.
Cadillac (18-3-0) The Vikings have begun another march through the Big North Conference – most notably with a five-set win over Traverse City Central on Monday – and they own solid early wins over Division 3 No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis, honorable mention McBain and Division 4 Ubly. The losses came to Division 3 No. 2 Roscommon, No. 4 Kingsley, and Mount Pleasant, all in weekend tournament play.
DIVISION 2
Kingsford (12-0-0) Despite graduating all-stater Madelynn Kreider in the spring, the honorable mention Flivvers are continuing a pace that took them to a 31-5 finish and District title a year ago. The most notable wins so far have come over Division 4 No. 10 Hancock during a 6-0 day at Kingsford’s season-opening invitational and then Calumet on Sept. 11, and they’ll see Negaunee for a second time Thursday after sweeping the Miners during opening weekend.
Milan (10-4-0) The Huron League is loaded this season with Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central again ranked No. 1 in Division 3 and Flat Rock coming off a win over the Kestrels last week. Add Milan to the mix, with losses only to another league foe New Boston Huron, plus SMCC, Division 2 No. 7 Tecumseh and honorable mention Parma Western. The Big Reds won their first meeting with Flat Rock and have a nice victory over Division 3 honorable mention Bronson as well.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (17-6-3) Coming off last year’s run to the Division 3 Semifinals, the No. 6-ranked Comets are facing a schedule filled with Division 1 and 2 teams. They’ve won 10 of their last 12 matches, the defeats coming two weeks ago at the Battle Creek Lakeview Invitational to Division 1 Portage Northern and Division 2 Chelsea. The only loss to a non-D1/D2 opponent came during a season-opening invitational to No. 5 Pewamo-Westphalia, which K-Christian also defeated that day.
McBain (11-7-0) The honorable mention Ramblers have won nine of their last 10 matches as they settle into Highland Conference play with the biggest coming up Thursday against No. 2 Roscommon – which defeated McBain in tournament play Aug. 29 and also ended the Ramblers’ 2024 run in the Regional Finals. McBain already has avenged an early loss this fall to honorable mention Manton and will see the Rangers again Oct. 28. The other defeats came three times to No. 4 Kingsley and once to Calumet and Cadillac.
DIVISION 4
Fowler (13-5-1) A Regional finalist last season, Fowler will definitely be prepared for top competition during tournament time. The Eagles started this season defeating current honorable mention Onekama and have taken losses to Division 1 Portage Northern, Division 3 No. 3 Plymouth Christian Academy, Division 4 No. 2 Ubly (twice) and No. 5 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart. Fowler also tied and then defeated Division 1 Midland Dow at the start of September. The Eagles will get their next major challenge Thursday at Pewamo-Westphalia.
Ishpeming (12-2-1) An opening draw with Newberry and losses to Negaunee and Calumet are the only flaws during an otherwise excellent start. Ishpeming then defeated Newberry at the Rudyard Invitational and will have a chance to see Negaunee again as well. Unranked at this time, the Hematites could equal last season’s 16 wins by the end of this weekend at the Escanaba Elks Invitational, where most notably they’ll see No. 8 Crystal Falls Forest Park.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Thursday – Fowler at Pewamo-Westphalia – A pair of top 10 teams top the Central Michigan Athletic Conference standings as P-W (16-5-3) is No. 5 in Division 3 and Fowler (13-5-1) is No. 6 in Division 4.
Saturday – Motor City Power Series at UWM Sports Complex in Pontiac – The most intriguing pool this weekend includes Division 1 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills (23-2-1), honorable mention Dexter (10-1-0), Novi (13-7-0), Saline (13-5-0) and Lake Orion (12-12-1).
Saturday – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep quad – The Fighting Irish (17-10-1) welcome Division 2 honorable mention Edwardsburg (19-7-0), Birch Run (18-6-2) and West Bloomfield (7-4)
Tuesday – Lansing Catholic at Ionia – Lansing Catholic (14-3-1) fell out of the Division 2 honorable mentions this week, but Ionia (19-3-0) moved up to No. 9.
Tuesday – South Lyon at South Lyon East – These neighbors and Milford head into the final week of the Lakes Valley Conference schedule vying for the top spot, with Division 1 honorable mention South Lyon (21-5-0) undefeated in league play and East (23-5-1) with just a loss to Milford.
PHOTOS (Top) Okemos blockers attempt to deflect the ball during a sweep last week of Lansing Waverly. (Middle) Warren Regina sets for a kill attempt against Notre Dame Prep during a Fighting Irish sweep. (Okemos/Waverly photo by Larry Arreguin/Team Arreguin Photos. Regina/Notre Dame Prep photo by Adam Sheehan.