Houghton’s Rachel Bigelow (14) and Maya Stier (8) attempt to make a block against Escanaba’s Bailey Barnon in a MHSAA Division 2 District 33 opener Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, in Houghton, Mich.​ (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Despite a two-set comeback on the volleyball court on Monday, the Houghton Gremlins came up short in set five against the Escanaba Eskymos in the MHSSA Division 2 District 33 opener.

The Eskymos won the opening round of postseason play with scores of 25-18, 26-24, 12-25, 21-25 and 15-8. Escanaba hosts Cheboygan today in a district semifinal.

“The girls never gave up,” said Escanaba head coach Adam Lambert. “They know that they got a little soft footed there in the middle sets but came back to play aggressively.”

With the exception of the final set, all four sets started out close with neither team being able to pull out with a strong lead.

The first set opened with a tie at seven. Then the Esymos pushed forward to a four-point lead at 16-12. Under the consistent serve of Houghton’s Micaela Geberkoff the two teams tied at 17. That’s as good as it got for the Gremlins as Katelyn Stalboerger came to the service line. She finished it off with a service of six to make it 25-18.

Stalboerger was unstoppable on the night. She dealt eight aces and had 17 kills.

“She has a rocket of a serve,” Lambert said. “And when she is on; she’s on.”

The momentum for the Eskymos carried in to the second set as the they maintained a three to four point lead throughout until the Gremlins’ Bryn Lamppa got the ball. She put together a run of four to create a tie at 24, but Escanaba won the next two points at 26-24.

Down 2-0, energy was once again not in Houghton’s side of the court or so it appeared as the third set got underway. A combination of strong-spirited Gremlin play combined with some complacency by the Eskymos put Houghton up 18-8 midway through the set. That quickly turned into a 25-12 victory.

With momentum now on the Gremlins’ side of the net, the Eskymos picked up the pace in the fourth. It was tied at three, six and ten before Houghton’s Brina Kirkpatrick made it 15-12. It was anybody’s set from there on out. It came to an end with a Stella Wickstrom tip to seal a 35-21 win for the Gremlis and force a fifth set.

“After we lost those first two sets, I told the girls we needed a quicker-tempo game, said Houghton’s head coach Blaire Zenner. “If we could slow Escanaba down, we could get them out of system and make them feel uncomfortable, and it worked.”

The fifth was going to be someone’s last set of the season, and it ended up being the Gremlins. The Eskymos came back to their old selves and took the victory at 15-8.

“In those middle two sets, we were playing conservative,” noted Lambert. “We were worried about making mistakes. This (volleyball) is a huge mental game, and we pulled it together in the last set. I saw a different team play as the girls brought it back as a team to clinch the win.”

While the season came to a close for the Gremlins, first-year coach Zenner was quite pleased with her team’s progress.

“We had a great season,” she said. “We ended up third in the West PAC, and we made great strides forward. I am so proud of these girls. They made a lot of growth as players and individuals. I’m looking forward to being back next year.”

Calumet 3, West Iron County 0

The Copper Kings made quick work of West Iron County with a sweep in the MHSAA Division 3 District 65 opener on Monday.

Calumet won by scores of 25-13, 25-4 and 25-8.

Marybeth Halonen and Lizzie Torola each had six aces. Helen Beiring had four aces and 13 kills.

The Copper Kings host Ishpeming at 6 p.m. today in a district semifinal.