Nina Carmichael-Tanaka was everywhere her Roseville team needed her to be Thursday night in the Class 3, Section 4 championship match at St. Paul Washington High School.
The senior outside hitter buried kills, got down to make digs, set up teammates for assists and provided an injection of energy for the Raiders.
“She was all over the place,” Roseville coach Greg Ueland said. “Nina does it all for us.”
Carmichael-Tanaka finished with 18 kills to lead the second-seeded Raiders to a 26-24, 25-21, 25-27, 19-25, 15-12 victory over top-seeded North St. Paul and send Roseville to the state Class 3A tournament for the third consecutive year.
“She is so underrated,” Ueland said. “I don’t think people appreciate her for what she does. We certainly do and is a big reason why were are going to state again.”
Carmichael-Tanaka stands 5-foot-6 and does not tower at the net like other elite hitters, but she has learned to make up for it through coaching and training.
“I was taught placement over power,” she said. “I am not the tallest one out there and can’t hit with the trajectory that (taller hitters) do. I have had to learn how to be creative and get (the ball) over using other angles.”
Her creative hitting helped the Raiders build an advantage early in Thursday’s match.
Roseville won the first two sets and led 20-16 in the third set before North St. Paul stormed back. The Polars, No. 6 in the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association’s final Class 3A poll of the season, won the third and fourth sets to force a fifth.
Roseville, No. 8 in the poll, gathered for a pep talk before the final set, which helped set a tone for the Raiders.
“We just talked about how much we love this and how passionate we are about this team,” Carmichael-Tanaka said. “It was pretty calm, but we got the job done.”
North St. Paul seemingly carried over the momentum it gained from the previous two sets by scoring the first two points in the fifth.
Roseville, however, ended the Polars’ push by scoring seven of the next nine points and went on to close out the set. The Raiders celebrated the match victory with a combination of relief and excitement.
“A lot of us didn’t know what to do,” Carmichael-Tanaka said. “I think that’s why everyone just fell to the floor.”
The Raiders head to the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center on Nov. 6. and Ueland plans to have his players plant their feet on solid ground after savoring the exhilaration of another section title.
“It was exciting, but maybe just a little too exciting,” he said.
