Copper Kings win district volleyball title for 11th time
The Copper Kings pose with the MHSAA Division 3 District 65 trophy which they won on Thursday as they defeated the Hancock Bulldogs at the Calumet Gym. It is their 11th consecutive district title in volleyball. Among the pictured are Helen Beiring, Allie Bjorn, Caitlyn Strom, Jackie Kiilunen, Maddie Torola, Laina Kariniemi, Kaylie Halonen, Carly Loukus and coach Kate Bonacorsi. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)
The Bulldogs’ Cassie Pietila (8) goes up high at the net as the Copper Kings’ Caitlyn Strom (1) tries to block her during the championship game of the Division 3 District 65 tournament Thursday in the Calumet Gym. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)
The Copper Kings pose with the MHSAA Division 3 District 65 trophy which they won on Thursday as they defeated the Hancock Bulldogs at the Calumet Gym. It is their 11th consecutive district title in volleyball. Among the pictured are Helen Beiring, Allie Bjorn, Caitlyn Strom, Jackie Kiilunen, Maddie Torola, Laina Kariniemi, Kaylie Halonen, Carly Loukus and coach Kate Bonacorsi. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)
The Bulldogs’ Cassie Pietila (8) goes up high at the net as the Copper Kings’ Caitlyn Strom (1) tries to block her during the championship game of the Division 3 District 65 tournament Thursday in the Calumet Gym. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)
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CALUMET -- For the 11th year in a row, the Calumet Copper Kings are the district champs in Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 3 District 65 volleyball. On Thursday, they defeated the Hancock Bulldogs, 3-0, to earn the title with scores of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-18.
This was the third time these two Copper Country rivals had met this season and each match has resulted in a sweep by the Copper Kings. In short, the Calumet girls come with their "A" game each time, firing on all cylinders.
Thursday was no different, and the atmosphere of a championship game at home only added to the excitement in the gym.
"The girls played really well," said Copper Kings coach Kate Bonacorsi. "They stayed in system and had very few errors."
Despite the third loss, both coaches noted that this was Hancock's best game. It was not an easy win, according to Bonacorsi.
"Hancock played very well," she said. "They kept us on our toes."
Bulldogs coach Heather Haataja said that she was pleased with her girls' performances, especially in the first set.
"That was our best," she said. "The girls played tight and kept Calumet on their toes. We were swinging hard and consistently tonight."
In that first set, the Copper Kings sped out to a 7-2 lead. However, a strong service run by the Bulldog's Brooke Koskela got it to an 8-8 tie.
The Bulldogs kept going with Kaisa Salani at the line and took a brief 13-12 lead. It was tied again at 15, but that's when the Copper Kings pulled out and sealed a set win with senior captain Helen Beiring at the line.
She had an impressive 18 kills on the night, with three aces and 15 digs.
Allison Bjorn followed her with eight kills.
In the second set, Hancock struggled to put together any service runs. They were one and done due to errors on their side of the net. A 10-4 Calumet lead morphed into a 16-7 gap and an eventual set victory.
In the third set, Hancock appeared to be back on track just as they were in the opening set. Some back-and-forth opening volleys resulted in a 6-6 tie and then a 9-9 knot.
However, the consistent push of the Calumet front line would not stop piling up points at the net. Beiring, Bjorn and Jackie Kiilunen moved it to a 15-11 lead and finished it with the set, and match, win.
Laina Karinemi had 37 assists on the night for the Copper Kings. Kaylie Halonen led the defensive effort with 19 digs.
Up next
With the district win, the Copper Kings will face the winner of Friday's district championship game between Bark River-Harris and Manistique. That regional semifinal will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. at Westwood High School in Ishpeming.