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Volleyball: Calumet battles in sweep over Hancock

Calumet’s Marybeth Halonen, right, hits the ball as Hancock’s Kaydence Kilpela defends on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Hancock, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — Even though Calumet rolled in a sweep over Hancock, Tuesday night’s match was anything but easy.

From long volleys, strong swings at the night and deep digs, both coaches agreed that this was an exciting match-up. The Copper Kings won 25-20, 25-18 and 25-22.

“That was by far the best I’ve seen Hancock play all year,” Calumet head coach Kate Bonacorsi said. “They played really well. They were motivated and hustled on defense.”

In front of a boisterous student section the Bulldogs thanked their four seniors: Laura Fenton, Sophie Heinonen, Jayci Stukel and Marina Kero.

“I am so proud of my seniors,” Hancock head coach Heather L’Esperance said. “All four of them have showed a lot of fight, and they have a positive attitude that leads our team.”

That leadership certainly helped the Bulldogs jump out to an 8-4 lead in the first set. Kero had one of her four kills in there before the Copper Kings came back to tie it at nine, then 11 and 13. Calumet then took their first lead of the night and pushed it to a 22-18 game.

While the Bulldogs didn’t miss much on their side of their net, Calumet found their weak spot. It was right in the middle of the court just over the front line and before the Bulldog’s back line.

“Our girls struggled to anticipate,” L’Esperance said. “They were anticipating big swings but instead got beat on tips.”

Bonacorsi said opting for tips was the idea.

“Our girls are savvy like that,” Bonacorsi said. “They do a good job of mixing it up.”

In the second set, these two teams tied at two, three and four. Then with Kristi Keranen at the line the Copper Kings converted the tie to a four point lead which quickly turned into a nine point lead and a 25-18 win.

“We played well in our system,” Bonacorsi said. “I thought Cami Johnson played her best all yar in the back row digging balls.”

On the front line, Elli Djerf had an impressive 17 kills. Marybeth Halonen followed with 15 and Lizzie Torola and Helen Beiring each had eight.

In the third set, the Coper Kings muscled their way out to a 6-1 lead and then a 13-3 tilt. However, with Kero at the line the Bulldogs narrowed that gap. Helping them were a few errors on the Copper Kings side.

“We had one too many errors at critical times,” Bonacorsi said. “It changed the momentum.”

The momentum carried the Bulldogs within two points at 15-17 but that was as close as it got before the Copper Kings notched a 25-22 win with Johnson at the service line.

With the win, the Copper Kings move to 14-0. The Bulldogs move to 5-5. In one week, these two teams will meet again in district play in Calumet.

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