Bulldogs swing past Purple Hornets 3-0
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HANCOCK -- Thursdays have been a busy day in the world of Hancock Bulldogs volleyball these past four weeks. For the past two weeks, the Bulldogs battled their cross-canal rivals - the Houghton Gremlins. At the Copper Spike two weeks ago, they lost 3-1, but a week later they evened the score with their own 3-1 win. Both matches were battles to the end with a lot of grit and energy being exerted on both sides of the net.
For the second straight Thursday, the Bulldogs earned a victory as they needed just three sets to defeat the visiting L'Anse Purple Hornets. Hancock won the match, 25-12, 25-11 and 25-9.
Bulldogs coach Heather Haataja summed it best.
"We didn't let L'Anse in the game," she said. "We were moving the ball around well and made it tough for L'Anse to gain any advantage."
In the first set, the Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-3 lead and never looked back. Both Kaisa Salami and Maylie Kilpela posted big scoring runs while serving that led to a 25-12 tilt.
In the second set, it was more of the same. The Bulldogs stayed one step ahead of the Purple Hornets.
"Tonight, the girls were somewhere else," said L'Anse coach Chad Rice. "They weren't moving or talking. We were on our heels the whole game."
The third set was dominated by service runs as the Bulldogs held their opponent to just nine points and forced a lot of mistakes.
Junior Brielle Kero opened the third with an eight-point service run to make it a 9-1 lead. At 10-4, Josie Hembroff posted a six-point run, and Brooke Koskela finished off the night with a series of three points to help earn the set and match win.
"Brooke is our only sophomore, and she played great tonight," said Haataja. "She had seven kills and just one hitting errors."
Ellie Heinonen led the offensive charge with four aces.
With a substantial lead halfway through the second set and it looking to be an easy third set, Haataja was able to get all of her bench in before the match was over.
"Everyone got to play and were able to do what they needed to do," she said. "That was good to see."
Up next
The Bulldogs hit the road and head to Westwood Tuesday, Oct. 11, to take on the Patriots.
Calumet wins
The Calumet Copper Kings traveled to Gwinn to face the Modeltowners. The Copper Kings won the match in straight sets, 25-6, 25-11, 25-11.