Houghton’s Ellie Hainault (2) and Sophie Hebert (13) attempt a block during the first set of a match against Jeffers Thursday at the Houghton High School gym. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Looking for a strong showing in the home gym, the Houghton Gremlins volleyball team had to battle through two tough sets against the visiting Jeffers Jets before finally finding their groove in the third set. The Gremlins earned the match win, 25-20, 25-19, and 25-14.

Gremlins coach Blaire Zenner admitted that her team still has a long way to go with several players still trying to find their way on a relatively inexperienced team.

“We’re still working through a new team, a new season, and getting everybody kind of acclimated to each other,” she said. “We have a new setter, two new setters, one setting right now. The other one is actually just playing right side, but we had Laney Johnson for the last three seasons, so (we are) just trying to figure out how that works.

“A lot of credit (is) due to our defense, our passers. Our back row took care of the ball, and when we weren’t able to be as successful, maybe, as we would have liked at the net, they were there to pick up balls and get touches on balls that I don’t think we’ve gotten always in the last few years.”

That all starts with senior libero Emmy Pietila, who led the Gremlins with 21 digs. Throughout the match, she tracked down big swings from Jets senior Mia Nordstrom, junior Aili Kinnunen, and junior Brielle Anderson, and she gave Houghton a chance to work its way out of situations.

“Emmy’s a big part of it,” Zenner said. “This is her third year on the varsity, so taking on that leadership role, just kind of being the boss in the back row, and leading by example.”

Beyond Pietila, the rest of the Gremlins’ back row is just as important. Zenner pointed to a pair of juniors who are learning alongside Pietila.

“We’ve got some phenomenal back row passers,” said Zenner. “Katia Rudak has really stepped in, Mia Lawson as well, and they’ve learned from somebody who is very passionate about the game and has put in a lot of time and effort.”

Rudak racked up four aces in the match, which helped the Gremlins get to 15 on the night. She also had an eight-serve run in the third set that turned a 10-8 lead into an 18-8 lead.

“She’s a very smart player, and we’re fortunate to have someone in the back row that can do a little bit of everything, pass, attack, serve,” Zenner said. “Serving is a big part of the game. If you can serve aggressively, and keep a server back there for as long as possible, it’s definitely a game changer.”

Senior Sophie Hebert led the Gremlins with seven kills. Sophomore Lydia Williams, who normally is a setter, had three as a right side hitter. Senior Jacey Sleeman also had three.

On the other side of the net, senior outside hitter Mia Nordstrom racked up eight kills to try to do everything she could to answer what Houghton threw at her.

“She’s our strongest hitter,” said Jets coach Rachel Sondgerath. “They put a really good block on her, and took away a lot of our kills, or our hits, today. They were smart on that.”

In fact, Houghton specifically attacked Nordstrom as much as they could, which kept her from being able to shift into attack mode as quickly as she wanted to.

“We tried to send balls to her,” said Zenner. “She’s a great player, back row and front row, and making her work and taking her out of the plays when possible, whether that’s passing or having her take second ball, was a big part of it. Then also kind of finding her always on the court, knowing where she is, because she is such a big presence on the court for them.”

Sondgerath’s Jets found answers for much of what the Gremlins were doing through the first two sets, however they had early season struggles that came back to bite them.

“Our passing hurt us the most,” Sondgerath said. “They knew where to put the ball, and they found our downfall on that one. I think we did a good job defensively on block. Montanna Hainonen did a really good job of coming in that third set and coming up with some of those blocks. She’s also very strategic with where she puts her ball, so she got a lot of points for us.”

The Jets are competing in the WestPAC this season for the first time, and Sondgerath isn’t using that as an excuse for the mistakes her team is making, but at the same time, she is looking for growth as they face tough competition from bigger schools.

“Not that it’s an excuse, but we’re new in the WestPAC,” she said. “We switched conferences, so we haven’t seen a lot of these teams ever before. We don’t know what we’re coming into. We don’t know what to expect. We’ve never seen them, so I am going to chalk it up to that little bit.

“We need to work on just having some mental toughness. (We) can’t let them get in our heads.”

Still, Sondgerath’s Jets showed moments where they were comfortable. She feels that the team had depth. It’s just a matter of finding the right balance.

“We do have a lot of depth on our team, but we have to figure out who we can get subbed in so we can get our passes to our setters,” she said. “If we can’t get our passes to our setters, then we can’t have an offense, and that really hurts us.”

Aya Keteri led the Jets with 14 digs.

Up next

The Jets return to action on Saturday as they battle Ashland on the road at 10 a.m. The Gremlins are off until Thursday, when they travel to face Hancock for the Copper Spike. Opening serve is set for 6:30 p.m.

Jeffers’ Mia Nordstrom readies to deliver a serve during a match against Houghton Thursday at the Houghton High School gym. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)