VALLEY CITY (NewsDakota)- For Carrington volleyball, the first tournament of the 2026 season arrived on Saturday, as the team finished runners-up in the 2026 Hi-Liner Invite, falling to Langdon in the final in three sets.

Pool Play

The Cards opened with a match against Wyndmere-Lidgerwood and after falling in the first set 25-24, they dominated the second 25-14 to earn the bonus point.  Then they faced top-ranked Oak Grove and split, losing 25-16 in the first set but winning 25-14 in the second for the bonus point.  They then swept Ellendale in two straight (25-18, 24-17) to advance to the Gold Bracket.

Quarterfinal: Carrington def. Medina/Pingree-Buchanan 2-0 (25-9, 25-15)

The Cardinals dominated the second-ranked team in Class B behind 28 assists from Aniston Hoornaert and 32 kills as a team, as they never trailed in the match.  These two teams will play again in Carrington on September 28th.

Semifinal: Carrington def. Grafton 2-0 (25-11, 25-21)

Two days after sweeping the Spoilers at home, Carrington did it again behind 23 assists and nine digs from Hoornaert and eight kills and six digs from senior Calleigh Hewitt.  As a team, the Cards had 30 kills, 52 digs, and 27 assists to advance to their second straight final in this event.

Championship: Langdon Area/Munich def. Carrington 2-1 (15-25, 25-22, 15-12)

Langdon Area/Munich rallied from a set down to take the title in Valley City.  Hoornaert had 27 assists and nine digs and Marah Johnson added twenty digs and seven kills while Mya Neis delivered nine kills and sixteen digs in defeat for the Cards (9-2).

Carrington next travels to Devils Lake on Tuesday to meet the 12-0 Firebirds with coverage on KDAK The Cardinal beginning at around 6:45pm.