Levi Erkkila/For the Gazette Calumet’s Allison Bjorn (17) hits the ball early in the third set of a match Tuesday at Hancock.

HANCOCK — With the MHSAA volleyball playoffs approaching, teams look to ride into the postseason on a high note, and on Tuesday night, the Calumet Copper Kings and Hancock Bulldogs accomplished that feat. The visiting Kings’ squad left Hancock High with the win (3-0: 25-20, 25-21, 25-21), but despite the sweep, the Bulldogs made the game extremely competitive.

“I was really proud of how we executed late in sets,” said Calumet coach Kate Bonacorsi. “We’ve had a lot of sets this season where we’ve had to come from behind, or the score was close late in the set.

“We have gotten really good at remaining composed, continuing to execute, and focusing on what needs to be done rather than getting panicky.”

Bonacorsi spoke more about the team’s ability to close the close sets.

“They just stay really focused in those moments,” she said. “I feel like this group is embracing pressure situations and staying aggressive, which is great.”

Hancock coach Brian Lampaa thought his team made mistakes, but the coach also praised the Copper Kings.

“We didn’t manage our side of the net as well as we needed to,” Lampaa mentioned. “Any time you give Calumet an easy point, they make you pay, and normally, we’ve done a better job of handling it; many of those problems have to do with Calumet, too. We competed and put ourselves in a position to be competitive.

“I thought we served fairly well, serve received fairly well, and did some good things to compete with them.”

Lampaa gave his thoughts on why Calumet won every set, even when the scores were close to the end.

“Calumet has a winning culture, and winning is a tradition for them,” Lampaa stated. “It’s a lot about having confidence for the moment, and Calumet has been doing this for a long time. They expect to win, they’re used to winning, and they know how to manage themselves in those tight, pressure situations.

“We’re putting ourselves in those positions, and we’ve done a good job of beating teams, but late-game situations are our program’s next area of growth.”

To start the game, the Bulldogs jumped to a 3-0 lead, but the Kings quickly tied the score, 4-4. Hancock went on a 4-0 run, and then Calumet followed with a 4-0 run. The Kings took their first lead,10-9, then extended their advantage to 14-10. Hancock outscored Calumet 7-5 over 12 serves but still trailed by two, 19-17. The Kings turned it on and doubled the Bulldogs 6-3 to finish the set and won 25-20.

Like the first, Hancock jumped to an early lead, but Calumet tied it at four. The Bulldogs took their largest lead of the night after an 8-2 run. Up 12-6, the set looked promising for the home team, but the Kings chipped away, cutting their deficit to five, 13-8, and then two, 18-16, before evening the score at 19. Calumet scored six of the next eight to take the second set, 25-21.

Again, an early Bulldog advantage was equaled at four. Hancock led by three, 10-7, but Calumet rallied to take a 13-11 lead. The Bulldogs got within one point a handful of times, 13-12, 18-17, 19-18, but their comeback attempt ended there. The clutch Kings’ team closed out strong for the third time and won the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.