CALUMET — After a big win on Tuesday over Kingsford, the U.P’s No. 1 ranked team, it was possible the Calumet Copper Kings would have a letdown on Thursday against the L’Anse Purple Hornets. However, there were no surprises. Calumet took down the visiting L’Anse squad in three sets, 25-16, 25-5, and 25-17.

Calumet coach Kate Bonacorsi gave her thoughts on how her players kept their energy level up after the intense Kingsford game.

“We talked about maintaining a high level of play and execution.” she said. “It’s hard to go from Tuesday’s atmosphere to tonight’s.”

Despite the loss, L’Anse coach Brooklyn Fish was thrilled with her team’s performance and attitude.

“I’m very proud of my girls,” she said. “They had great attitudes tonight. We struggled with attitudes all season, and tonight, the team’s attitude was the best it has been all year. They didn’t get down on each other or get down on themselves.”

Outside of the second set, the scores in the first and third were relatively close.

“I think it’s the best we played all season. We came in knowing that it would be a tough game, and the girls did the absolute best they could,” Fish stated. “We fought with them and fell short, but I’m very proud.”

Mylee Londo and Brooklyn Dompier led the Purple Hornets with eight kills; Keira Dakota scored five times.

Allison Bjorn propelled the Copper Kings with 11 kills and two aces. Caitlyn Strom scored 12 points, six kills, and six aces. Madelyn Torola scored eight times from behind the line and added three kills.

The Copper Kings couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the game. Calumet scored 12 before L’Anse had one. The following nine serves were played more evenly, with the Copper Kings winning five rallies to the Purple Hornets’ four. At 17-5, both squads added three more to the tally. L’Anse continued to battle; they cut their deficit to eight, 23-15. The Copper Kings ended the comeback attempt and won the first set.

In the second, Calumet was firing on all cylinders. By the time the Purple Hornets had four on the scoreboard, the Copper Kings had 15. Calumet scored six times before the Purple Hornets broke up the run. The score was 21-5, and Calumet finished the set without giving up another point, and they took a two-game lead after the set win.

Facing elimination, the Purple Hornets played with some desperation. Calumet could not pull away from L’Anse, and the teams fought. It was 10-8, 13-13, and 18-16 before the Copper Kings finally pulled away.

UP NEXT

The Copper Kings are playing in the Detroit Open this weekend, and then on Tuesday, they will travel to face Houghton. The freshman teams start the night off at 4:30 p.m.

The Purple Hornets will travel to Lake Linden-Hubbell on Tuesday. The freshman teams start the night off at 4:30 p.m.