Esky’s season ends against Kingsley
MANISTIQUE — After its first district title in program history, the Escanaba volleyball team was forced up against a Goliath in the sixth-ranked Kingsley Stags. The Eskymos weren’t able to slay the giant and fell to the Stags 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-12) in a Division 2 regional semifinal Tuesday at Manistique.
“It’s a tough thing for the girls,” Esky coach Adam Lambert said. “They’re realizing that they’ve accomplished a great thing this year — going as far or farther than any team in Escanaba’s recent history. The district win for us was huge as a school and as a team. It’s tough to see it end this way, but you can’t hang your head after such a great season. I mean, this is regionals. It’s amazing.”
The Stags (56-7-3) took a small lead out of the gate in the first set. The Eskymos came within two points three separate times — on an ace from Anna Smith, a kill from Nicole Kamin and a block kill by Alexandra Cooper and Katelyn Stalboerger — before the Stags’ momentum took over. Shortly after, the Stags’ Mirandra Acre put together a nine-point service run to finish the set.
“It’s been a real good year,” Stags’ coach Dave Hall said. “We have seven seniors who’ve been together since they were sophomores. So, we’re hoping to make a run and see what we can do. Last year we made it into regionals and into the quarterfinals. We’re hoping to make it that far again this year.”
The Eskymos fought back in the second set and gained an early lead thanks to a five-point run from Smith.
“What I tried not to do was get the girls overthinking this thing,” Lambert said. “This is the sport of volleyball, the sport they love. All they had to do was come out here and play their best, and we’d just see where the chips fell. (Kingsley is) good. They don’t make a lot of errors, but when they did, we capitalized on them and used it as momentum.”
The Stags gained ground as the set progressed, taking a 15-13 lead after a five-point run from Sydny Hessem.
After, Esky was unable to capitalize on its possessions and faced a 23-18 deficit. The Eskymos’ Taylor Ray finished with a powerful spike to cut the deficit to 23-19, and an ace from Maddy Block put them within striking distance.
However, Kingsley’s Austyn DeWeese, who notched 14 kills, won back possession with a hard spike, and a forced Esky double-hit from a Hessem spike ended the set.
“We had a really good season, and they’re playing really well together,” Hall said. “The communication on the court — they don’t even have to talk sometimes. They know who’s going to take the ball, and it makes coaching pretty easy. It’s a fantastic group of kids. It’s a really fun group to coach.
“Hats off to Escanaba. Especially that second game, they played really well. Their middle (Kamin) gave us some trouble, and their defense was scrappy and all over the place.
In the third set, Escanaba fell behind 19-6 after runs from the Stags’ Hattie Raska, Olivia Esman and Hessem. Four Eskymo points — including back-to-back kills from Smith — made it 20-10, but Esky only notched two more points from Grace Charles and Kamin before the Stags’ Brittany Bowman, who collected 18 kills, finished the set and the match.
“We just had a lot of errors, and you can’t make errors this late into the season,” Lambert said. “You just can’t, but tonight, I’m not upset. They played with their hearts in it, and overall, they’re a great bunch of gals.
“This team has just been so much fun to coach and phenomenal just as far as sisterhood and getting along and playing as a team. Jalin Olson is the heart of the team. She’s so passionate about the sport, and she’s the MVP — as far as defensive specialist of the year — for a reason. Nicole does her bit up at the net, and so does everyone else. They all contribute. There’s some good seniors I’m going to miss next year. We’ve got great juniors coming up, and we’ve got a great sophomore squad that will be with us.”
Escanaba
Aces — Block 2, Smith 1; kills — Kamin 14, Smith 5, Stalboerger 3, Henderson 2, Cooper 1, Olson 1, Charles 1, Ray 1; blocks — Kamin 4, Stalboerger 1; assists — Block 9, Henderson 6, Charles 2; digs — Olson 12, Wilson 7, Block 3, Barron 2, Henderson 2, Kamin 2, Lancour 1, Smith 1.