DEVILS LAKE (NewsDakota)- In 2025, May Port-CG upset Carrington in the Region 2A Final en route to the state championship.
But on Thursday night, it was the Cardinals’ turn.
Behind steady play and balanced offense, the Carrington volleyball program punched their first state tournament ticket since 2013 with a sweep (25-19, 25-17, 25-16) of the Patriots in the rematch of that 2025 final.
Carrington got off to a solid start, with senior co-captain Harper Kollman collecting six kills and sophomore Mya Neis adding three more in the first set as the Cards (35-2) took control with a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead and never looked back.
The second set was dominant defense against UND signee Paetyn Strand, who finished with nine kills, a season low. Offensively, senior co-captain Calleigh Hewitt and junior Marah Johnson delivered the firepower as Carrington trailed only 2-1 before taking control.
In the third set, Neis added a pair of aces and Maara Kutz dominated in the middle as three Cardinals (Johnson, Kollman, Kutz) all finished with ten kills each. For the match, Carrington made 43 kills and nine attack errors. And when Nora Braaten’s serve went wide right on match point, the celebration was on.
Following the match, Kollman, Johnson, Aniston Hoornaert, and Hewitt were named All-Region and Kadyn Mehring was named Region 2 Coach of the Year.
Carrington is the likely 1-seed in next week’s Class A State Tournament and will learn their opponent for Thursday’s quarterfinals after Saturday’s State Qualifiers, which will include May Port-CG vs Valley City and Devils Lake vs Oak Grove.
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