The Gremlins’ Clea Ollanketo (2) digs the ball as Jiani Tang (13) looks on. (Traiche Raiche/For the Gazette)

KINGSFORD — The atmosphere inside Flivver Gym during the Kingsford-Houghton volleyball match on Thursday night was electric. It was Senior Night, the always talented Gremlins were in town and the Flivvers were paying homage to one of their own who is undergoing a cancer battle.

At times, the emotions overtook the Flivvers and their coach Jaclynn Kreider, mainly during a pregame speech by senior Elaina Bortolini to team assistant Rita Huglen, who was expected to leave the team Friday to travel to get treatment for a reoccurrence of cancer.

That acknowledgement and dedication, tears and all, sparked Kingsford early, and the Flivvers went on to play their best match of the season in defeating Houghton 24-26, 25-16, 25-18, 25-23.

“Rita does so much behind the scenes that a lot of people don’t realize, and I can’t thank her enough for it,” Kingsford coach Jaclynn Kreider began. “She loves the girls unconditionally, and I think tonight you could see the impact she’s had on so many lives.”

“This game really meant a lot to us,” senior middle hitter Laura Bracket said. “Rita getting cancer is really hard for us, and we all wanted to work together and make this a special moment for her. “She’s always been around with everything … and we just love her so much.”

Kingsford took a 10-6 lead in the opening set on an ace by Ellery Nash. Maddy Kreider followed with an ace of her own a few minutes later to keep the Flivvers out front 13-8.

But the Gremlins fought back with a 7-1 run to grab a 15-14 lead. From there, the set stayed neck-and-neck until a Kingsford hitting error gave Houghton a 26-24 victory.

Nevertheless, the Flivvers’ stayed aggressive to start the second set, which they dominated. Kingsford built a 20-11 lead on a kill by Maddy Kreider and ended it on a serving error by the Gremlins and a block from Kreider.

“I think what we did well tonight was allow our mistakes and just let go and stay aggressive,” Coach Kreider said. “This is what we’ve been asking for. If we stick to the gameplan and we trust each other, we’re going to be a hard team to beat because we do have a lot of different weapons and tonight you started to see a lot of that.”

One moment in the second set showcased the mental and physical toughness the Flivvers displayed during the match. Houghton’s 6-foot middle hitter Stella Wickstrom hammered a laser of a spike attempt right at Nash, hitting her near the face.

Not to be intimidated, Nash just laughed.

“She got hit hard,” Coach Kreider said. “But she stayed in there, she stayed aggressive and didn’t play scared. Tonight there was just something different about the girls.”

A recent addition to the already strong Kingsford attack is sophomore Anna Bortolini. The outside hitter does not stand out on the court size-wise, but that is all forgotten when she swings, jumps and runs.

“She’s crazy athletic,” Coach Kreider said of Bortolini, who entered the match in the second set and provided even more spark with four kills and a block in the match. “She jumps higher than anybody in our program and she’s super super fast. She’s got a powerful swing and she’s already made a difference in the last couple of weeks.”

Kingsford rode its momentum to a 12-2 lead to start the third set. Sophomore Kailey Sundquist scored seven straight service points, including three of her team-high 10 aces during the run.

Plus, Bracket got involved during the middle of the set with a block and a kill to add to her team’s lead. Bracket finished with four kills and two blocks and seemed more comfortable within Kingsford’s quick-set offense than she was in earlier matches.

“During practice we worked a lot on middle stuff and just getting used to the setters and where they need to put the ball for middles,” Bracket said. “And we trust each other.”

Down 20-11, the Gremlins answered with a 7-3 stretch to cut their gap to 23-18. But Kreider scored a kill before Elaina Bortolini served an ace off the net to push the Flivvers to within one set of the win.

The final set was back-and-forth most of the way. At 22-all, Sundquist served a short ace and then added another one down the sideline to put the Gremlins on the brink. Two points later, a hitting error by Houghton ended the match and sent the Flivver sideline into jubilation.

Kingsford will begin Division 2 District 33 play on Wednesday, Nov. 2, with a home match against Negaunee. If they prevail, the Flivvers will host the final on Thursday, Nov. 3.

“We’re excited about next week,” Coach Kreider said. “We’re glad that we get to be here. Hopefully the community is excited and they’ll come here and the atmosphere will be exciting next week.”