Senators stun Bishop Manogue on Senior Night

Carson High School volleyball took advantage of its Senior Night Tuesday evening.

Not only did the Senators honor their seven seniors with the program, but found a level of energy that propelled them to beat Bishop Manogue in five sets – 23-25, 25-21, 25-13, 13-25, 20-18.

The Senators trailed 13-11 in the fifth set and fought off three match points before knocking off the Miners (19-15, 11-5 in Class 5A North league play).

“It’s unbelievable. After always being swept by Manogue that we can finally beat them,” said senior Sarah Miller. “I’ve always had bad experiences whenever we played against Manogue so this year was putting it down, ending it.”

It marks the first time since 2018 Carson High has defeated the Miners and is only the second victory over Bishop Manogue since 2016.

Final moments

The fifth set swayed on the edge of a knife.

Carson got out to a 7-4 lead behind an Abby Franco kill and an Ava Kordonowy service ace.

Before you knew it, the two teams were tied at 13.

Kordonowy got Carson its first match point, finding the back left corner in the Miner defense open on a ball she bumped over the net.

The Miners won two of the next three points to gain a 15-14 lead, but the Senators held them off to tie the final set at 15.

Down 16-15, Miller got a kill with a tipped ball that dropped to the floor before senior Anna Turner put away a kill of her own.

Miller ended the night with a team-high 18 kills and four blocks while Turner had 12 kills and two blocks of her own. 

The Miners final match point slipped away when senior setter Madelyn Monson tipped her own ball down to the floor.

Carson won the next point to go up 19-18 before Turner finished it off at the net.

“I was a little nervous. I didn’t want to screw it up, but it was fun. Everyone did really well,” said Turner. “A lot of players we had to pull up did really, really well, which we are really proud of.”

Battling through a variety of crucial points against the Miners is a capable playoff test for Carson.

The seniors know that’s what it will take to potentially knock off a top seed.

“Just trying to be smart with the ball,” said Miller. “Manogue is a really good team. It’s a lot of putting it where they are not.”

Monson had 51 assists in the win, adding to her season total that now sits at 619. 

Kordonoway posted 22 digs, some of the biggest coming in the final few points, and had four aces.

(The seven seniors of Carson High School volleyball pose for a photo earlier this season. Pictured from left to right are, Sarah Miller, Tarrah Borrowman, Kylie Heckman, manager Misha Fajayan, Dayna Myrehn, Madelyn Monson and Anna Turner./ Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage)

Senior class

Carson High volleyball will lose seven seniors, who will be moving on in the spring.

As a group, the program will be saying goodbye to Turner, Miller, Monson, Dayna Myrehn, Kylie Heckman, Tarrah Borrowman and manager Misha Fajayan.

The seniors have been a part of a program turnaround coming out of the pandemic that can’t be ignored.

Many played varsity as freshman, going 2-5 in a shortened season.

As sophomores, they went 3-14.

The breakout began their junior season, putting together an 18-11 record.

This year, Carson is 20-8 overall (8-7 in Class 5A league play) with the last game of the regular season remaining against Douglas (18-15, 5-10) Wednesday night.

The Senators fell to Galena (5-15, 4-10) last week and to immediately turn the tables against routinely one of the best teams in the North will get the rest of the leagues attention.

“It’s our Senior Night. It’s our time for us to take the spotlight,” said Miller.

Carson still has a shot at the No. 4 seed as McQueen (9-6 in league play) takes on Reno (14-1) to end its season.

The seeding will determine who will host their playoff matchup as both Carson and McQueen will start the postseason against each other in the 4/5 game.  

Douglas will be vying for the final postseason spot, needing a win to stay in front of Galena for the No. 6 seed.

Class 5A North volleyball league standings as of Wednesday afternoon

Reno                           14-1

Spanish Springs        14-1

Bishop Manogue       11-5

McQueen                    9-6

Carson                        8-7

Douglas                      5-10

Galena                        5-10

Reed                           2-13

Damonte Ranch         0-15

(Abby Franco, right, and the rest of the Carson High School volleyball team celebrate winning a point, during their five-set victory over Bishop Manogue Tuesday evening on Senior Night. Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)

(Carson junior Ava Kordonowy bends down to record a dig, during the Senators' Senior Night win over Bishop Manogue. Kordonowy posted 22 digs and four aces in the win. Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)