Copper Kings volleyball grounds Jets for district title
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PAINESDALE -- The MHSAA Division 3 District 65 trophy was on the line Friday night in Painesdale as the Jeffers Jets and the Calumet Copper Kings battled for the title. The Copper Kings proved to be the better team, downing the Jets 3-1, 25-18, 25-12, 23-25 and 25-15.
It was the second time these two teams had met this season. In late October, the Copper Kings had swept the Jets, 3-0. In short, the Copper King came to play.
"In the playoffs, you have to keep playing every point like it is match point," said Copper Kings coach Kate Bonacorsi, "because, at some point, it is going to be."
With that attitude, the Copper Kings opened the first set with a 10-3 lead and never looked back. While a service of five by the Jets Taylee Rajala helped put the Jets within three of Calumet at 13-10, that was as good as it got.
With strong service by Calumet's Chloe Coppo and Cali Hodges, the Copper Kings were able to take the first set.
The second set was much the same with the Copper Kings playing tough at the net and covering the floor. Jess Anderson posted back-to-back aces at points six and seven for the Copper Kings.
Up stepped teammate Annika Stafford, and the girls in blue and gray led by 10. Anderson was back on the service line for points 24 and 25. The Copper Kings won the second set.
The third set belonged to the Jets. Kylee Andrews opened the set for the girls in green with a 7-0 run that included two aces. While the Copper Kings were able to bounce back and tie it at 15, 16, 17, 21 and 23, the Jets landed a set victory.
"Obviously, that was our best set," said Jets first-year coach Joslynn Jukkala. "We started the third set playing hard, and we were able to capitalize on their errors and have a decent lead. We made some rookie mistakes in the other sets, and you cannot do that with a good team like Calumet."
With the momentum on the side of the Jets with a much-needed third set win, they flew out in the fourth with a 7-4 lead. It was back and forth between these two rivals and even knotted at nine, 10, and 11 before the Copper Kings pulled away to a five-point lead at 17-12.
That morphed into a 20-12 lead with Hodges back on the line and eventually a set and match win.
"I liked how we responded in that fourth set after a bad third," said Bonacorsi. "There is so much momentum in volleyball, and when things were not going our way, we were able to persevere and survive the stress."
Up next
The Copper Kings (22-12-1) will head to Gwinn Tuesday to face Norway for a Division 3 Region 17 semifinal.