PJ McKinney needed all of one match to know that he had something special in freshman middle Zoey Carlson.

Newark’s season opener against Moline, he could tell that Carlson was a little nervous.

Until she hit two long bombs.

“One she hit, they overpassed it to the net and she put it straight down. We thought ‘Zoey, now you belong,’” said McKinney, Newark’s coach. “She has been flying ever since.”

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Newark’s Heather Buhle (8) reacts after scoring a point on a kill against Aurora Christian during a non-conference match at Newark High School on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Sean King for Shaw Local News Ne/Chicago Tribune)

Carlson should be on cloud nine after Tuesday’s match.

She had big hit after big hit, five of her team-high 10 kills and a block in the third set alone.

Newark rallied from a four-point deficit late in the clinching set for a 25-22, 23-25, 25-23 win over visiting and previously undefeated Aurora Christian.

“It was fun, it was good competition,” Carlson said. “Definitely one of the more intense matches I’ve played in.”

The Norsemen (9-1) trailed 21-17 in the third, but came back to tie it 22-22 on a kill by Heather Buhle. Carlson’s moment of the match followed.

She turned away multiple Aurora Christian hits at the net in succession, Carlson’s last block finally giving Newark a 23-22 lead.

“I was just trying to keep the ball alive on their side, make them scramble,” Carlson said. “I use my legs a lot to jump.”

The match ended in controversial fashion.

Aurora Christian (12-1), trailing 24-23, was called for four touches to howls of protest from the Eagles’ side.

“There was no way there were four touches,” Aurora Christian coach Mayra Johnson said. “The first one was part of a block, and then there was a second and the third one went over. What’s interesting is the down ref didn’t even know what the call was, either. At least do a replay.”

Aurora Christian star outside Hope Wagner, a Milwaukee recruit, was distraught in the moments after the match.

She was sensational in defeat.

Wagner had a match-high 21 kills, seven of those coming in the third set. More than one came from off-target sets with the Eagles without senior setter Breanna Hard.

Wagner’s off-balance kill from the left pin had Aurora Christian ahead 21-17.

“The great thing about Hope, and she’s our go-to, everybody expects her to swing and kill that ball. What’s she’s learned this season is to become a versatile hitter,” Johnson said. “Everybody thinks she’s going to swing hard and she finds an open spot for a tip or roll.”

Aurora Christian was rolling early, scoring the first four points of the match.

Newark came back to take four of the next five, foreshadowing things to come. McKinney’s persistent bunch kept rallies alive all night.

Even down 16-10 in the second set they eventually dropped, the Norsemen came back to forge a tie.

Zoey Carlson had 10 kills, Rylie Carlson 10 kills and 11 digs, Morgan Hergenhahn 15 digs and Taylor Jeffers 14 assists and five digs for Newark. Ella Bromeland had 13 assists.

“A good group, resilient, they bounce back. We’ve been down before,” McKinney said. “I knew if we could play defense, and we had to play defense against a team like that. A lot of rallies back and forth and it’s awesome. We’ll keep the ball in play.”

Carlson’s quick-set kill off a block got Newark set point in the first.

Carlson and older sister Rylie, a sophomore outside hitter, were named to the all-tournament team at Manteno over the weekend, where Newark took second.

“To do that as a freshman, to know what to do with the ball, especially at this level – and she’s only going to get better," McKinney said. “Sometimes you don’t have to teach what she has, and that’s huge. She is going to be a good one.”

This was a good win to get.

“We’ve been dealing with [Wagner] for four years. It’s too bad their setter was out,” McKinney said. “We knew this would be a battle when we saw the schedule. We always have great battles with them. Three sets, back and forth, it was like a sectional final match. They’re really good but I think my team is good too.”

Aurora Christian, which overcame 14 errors in the first set – six on missed serves – got six kills from Katie Maddox and 20 digs from Ashlyn Aseltine.

“We are a great serving team. I them first set we missed six serves and that can’t happen again, and they turned it around for sure,” Johnson said.

“As I told the girls, you can’t control those bad calls. We have to move forward. There is going to be a match where there are no second thoughts on the call. We’re going to get the kill, we’re going to get the pass, serve, dig.”