Hancock’s Kaisa Salani, left, goes for the kill against Calumet’s Caitlyn Strom, center, and Madelyn Torola on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Calumet, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

CALUMET — The games between Copper Island rivals, the Hancock Bulldogs and the Calumet Copper Kings produce intense and exciting entertainment, no matter the sport.

On Tuesday, volleyball was no different, despite Calumet sweeping Hancock 3-0.

The Copper Kings won by scores of 25-22, 25-8 and 25-19.

“You could sense the energy at the start of the match,” said Calumet head coach Kate Bonacorsi. “(It’s) a big game because we are so close geographically and because we are in the same conference and district.”

The Kings came into the game undefeated (3-0). Calumet has won every set they played. The dominant Copper Kings hosted the Bulldogs and continued their impressive streaking. Despite the score, Hancock fought hard and, at times, caused problems for Calumet.

Hancock was the first to ten in the opening set. The teams swapped point for point, but the score leaned in the Bulldogs’ favor, 10-7. Calumet won seven of the next 11 rallies to tie the game at 14. The Kings took the lead, 18-17. Over the next seven serves, Hancock scored four points to Calumet’s three, and the set was deadlocked at 21. The battle ended with a 4-1 Calumet run that sent the game into the second set with the Kings up 1-0.   

Both squads had trouble putting together runs in the first set. Neither team had a run extending more than three points in the Kings’ 25-22 win in the first.

“I didn’t think we served as well as we have been, and we couldn’t put any runs together,” said Bonacorsi. “We did not play that well, and I think that motivated our girls in the second set.”

The Kings’ offense was more motivated in the second set, and they played with a sense of urgency. Calumet and Hancock split the first four rallies, and then the Kings broke it open with a stretch of nine points, making the score 11-2. The Copper King attack continued to control the game, and the tough Bulldog team could not grab any traction. Hancock tried to keep it close, but the Bulldogs had eight when Calumet hit 20 points. The Kings scored five straight to end the second. With the significant 25-8 win, Calumet had the momentum going into the third set ahead 2-0.  

The Bulldogs were not surrendering down 2-0. The Bulldogs matched Calumet over the first 12 rallies before the Kings added four to make it a 10-6 game. The determined Bulldogs grabbed five of six serves to tie the third set at 11. Like the first set, the teams were point for point until a late Kings run created breathing room for the home team. It was a one-point game, 18-17, before Calumet brought the lead to five, 22-17. The Copper Kings closed out the final set 25-19 and recorded the 3-0 victory.

The Kings treat practice like a game to keep the team from getting too comfortable.

“We try to create a lot of intensity in practice and create pressure (situations) to feel a little bit of that anxiety they will have to overcome in matches,” Bonacorsi said. “We try to do a lot of completive drills and goal-oriented drills.”