Houghton's Ellie Hainault (2) puts up a big block at the net against Hancock's Bria Koski (4)  during a match Thursday at the Houghton High School gym. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — It was the Copper Spike all over again. While the outcome was the same with the Hancock Bulldogs volleyball team winning over the Houghton Gremlins, Thursday’s match was a real battle on the court. The rivals traded sets, but the Bulldogs came out on top, 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 19-25 and 15-13).

It was a stark contrast to the sweep the Bulldogs handed the Gremlins a month ago in Hancock.

Both coaches noted the difference a few weeks made.

“We have a young team, but I really liked how we competed,” said Bulldogs coach Brian Lampaa. “I am happy how we just kept fighting and battling.”

Gremlins coach Blaire Zenner said being at home helped.

“We competed. It was a hard-fought match,” she said. “This was a major improvement from the last time we played them. It is good to see us trending in that direction.”

That winning trend started in the first set for the Gremlins. They opened with back-to-back aces, and with Lydia Williams on the line, they moved the score out to 12-6. They kept that energy going to a score of 18-12, and then the momentum switched to the Bulldogs.

With some key kills from Azura Aho and Romey Koskela, the Bulldogs got within one at 18-19 and 19-20. They then tied it at 21 and 22. With Chloe Bastian at the line, the Bulldogs rallied for three and earned a 25-22 win.

The second set saw close to 10 ties. While the Bulldogs led twice (6-5 and 19-16), the Gremlins had the last point.

The see-saw set was knotted at six, seven, eight, 12, 16 and 20 before the Gremlins won the sprint to 25 (25-22).

Key in the set was the play of Emmy Pietila. The Gremlins libero posted a service run of four to take a 22-20 lead and had an impressive 31 digs on the night.

The third set was knotted at four, five and eight before Hancock pulled away. With Krissa Pietila serving for the Bulldogs, they led by as much as five at 14-9. That quickly morphed into a 19-13 lead and eventual 25-18 win.

“The third was our best set,” said Lampaa. “We were down, but battled back and were much more consistent.”

The Bulldogs now led 2-1, but the Gremlins weren’t going down easy.

“We have put in the work at practice and it showed tonight,” said Zenner. “Our blocking was better and our service was strong.

That was certainly evident in the fourth set. After ties at nine and 11 an 12, the Gremlins pushed out to a 18-14 lead and never looked back. With Katia Rudak on the line, the Gremlins forced a fifth set with a 25-19 win.

The fifth set was no different than the other four. After ties at two and three, the Gremlins led by as much as four at 10-6.

However with Lucy Biekkola on the line, the Bulldogs rallied for four to knot this one at 10 and again at 11.

The race to 15 was on.

While the Bulldogs led 13-11, the Gremlins rallied for two and it was 13-13. However, Alice Larson served up two strong balls, and her Hancock teammates finished the job with a 15-13 match-point win.

“This was good to see,” Lampaa added. “This was a big confidence booster for us.”

Lydia Williams led the Gremlins offensively with 10 kills, and she added 10 assists, two aces and two blocks. Ellie Hainault had nine kills, one ace and seven blocks.

Katia Rudak added 25 digs and two aces for the Gremlins.

Up next

Houghton (9-12) will travel to Wrightstown, Wisconsin, for a tournament Saturday. Hancock (14-3-2) will be in L’Anse on Monday for a game against the Purple Hornets.