Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Escanaba’s Anna Smith (14) strikes the ball as Menominee’s Makenzie Wellner (6) attempts to block Thursday at Escanaba.

ESCANABA — The Escanaba volleyball team put what its been practicing into action here Thursday as the Eskymos finished off the Menominee Maroons 3-0 in straight sets (25-15, 25-16, 25-9) in Great Northern Conference action.

“(The) funnest part has been watching these girls come together as friends first,” Esky coach Adam Lambert said. “That means that they hit the floor together — they’re doing very, very well at that. Tonight’s communication was outstanding. As a coach, we want nothing more than to see them execute on things we’re doing in practice. Tonight, I’m not going to say what those secrets are, but they worked very, very well.”

The Eskymos (4-2-1, 2-0 GNC) got off to a quick start in the first set. Esky’s Nicole Kamin went on a five-point service run to give the Eskymos a 9-3 lead and they continued that momentum throughout the rest of the match.

“Their coverage on the tips and blocks was a little better tonight, but we still have a lot of work to do with that,” Maroons’ coach Sarah Betzinger said. “The blocking was a lot better timed tonight. We made a couple hitters rethink a couple of their swings tonight, which is what it’s supposed to do.”

However, the Maroons (1-6) were unable to string together more than a few points at a time.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t the most accurate of passers tonight, which is what really hurt us,” Betzinger said. “However, they were getting there and getting under them, which is huge.

“Movement is a big problem for us — it’s the constant. If you watch Escanaba, those girls are constantly moving, but my girls couldn’t get the hang of that tonight, which really hurt.”

Esky’s Taylor Ray finished off the first set 25-15 with a hard spike.

The Eskymos continued their dominance in the second set, not letting the Maroons get into any groove. Kamin finished the set 25-16 with a spike.

After taking a 19-9 lead in the third set, Escanaba’s Bailey Barron finished it off with a six-point service run.

“The passing tonight was phenomenal, and if you don’t get a good pass, you can’t get a good hit,” Lambert said. “Tonight we were passing well. I used a lot of my support team, and they really passed well, too. I’m so proud of these girls — it’s amazing. There are chills down my spine, but again, it’s not because of the score but of how they were playing.

“The girls’ mental game was there tonight. They came prepared to win, and they came, moreso, prepared to play as a team.”

Betzinger was happy with how her team responded to the loss.

“They walked off the court with a list of things they want to walk into practice and work on, which is a good thing,” she said. “That means they’re evaluating their performance, and they want to get better and work at it.”

Escanaba, which also won the jayvee match, hosts Engadine Monday while Menominee visits Peshtigo for a triangular meet.

“(Engadine) is a tough team,” Lambert said. “They’re a tall team, and they’re very well coached. We’ll have to come in and be really, really tough with them.”

Escanaba

Aces — Olson 4, Barron 3, Block 2, Ray; kills — Kamin 13, Smith 6, Barron 5, Ray 5, Block 1, Henderson; blocks — Kamin 2, Smith 1; assists — Henderson 12, Block 11, Charles 1; digs — Olson 14, Barron 8, Wilson 4, Block 2, Lancour 2, Ray 2, Henderson 1, Smith 1, Rexford 1.

Menominee

Stats were unavailable.