Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Gladstone’s Joyce Barron (4) hits the ball as Menominee’s Erin Olson defends Monday at Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — It took a moment, but the Gladstone volleyball team showed what they could do when firing on all cylinders here Monday. After dropping the first set, the Braves won three straight to earn a 3-1 (19-25, 25-10, 25-16, 25-15) Great Northern Conference victory over Menominee.

The Maroons led 10-6 early in the fourth set, but a serve into the net turned it over to Gladstone.

The Braves strung together five more kills to take the lead — including two kills from Amber King-Rabitoy. A Maroons timeout briefly stalled their momentum as a Gladstone return landed out of bounds, but the Braves regained possession immediately after on a serve into the net.

“It all comes down, for us, to communication and leadership out there on the court,” Braves coach Averi Kanyuh said. “Sometimes, I think not one person specifically wants to take charge and get it started from the get-go. They all have to work together and find out who’s communicating (from each row) to get that done.”

Capitalizing, the Braves went on an 8-2 run to lead 21-14 before a ball went into the net. Menominee’s Erin Olson added an ace to reduce its deficit to 21-15, but the Maroons couldn’t string any more together.

Gladstone’s Megan Crow spiked it and blocked the next back to make it 23-15, and Ahna Larson sealed the set and the match with an ace.

“I think we did really well with serving tonight,” Kanyuh said. “We did have a couple mis-serves, but I think we really got rolling as the sets progressed. I’m proud of the girls for a win.”

The third set was nearly the same story. Both teams hung close until Crow landed back-to-back spikes, and Larson earned back-to-back kills to make the Braves’ advantage 15-8.

A few points later, the Maroons put together a short run to reduce their deficit to 18-14 — including an ace from Elizabeth Nerat, but a penalty at the net turned it back over to Gladstone. Apart from a kill from Crow, Menominee mistakes added three more points to the Braves’ lead, and Gladstone’s Alivia Blowers tipped one over to end the set (25-16).

The Braves pulled ahead early in the second set and didn’t let up. They maintained their lead thanks to a six-point run from Larson and short runs from Alissa Sanville and Jadyn Bovin.

The first set was almost backward as the Maroons came back from a deficit early, then pulled ahead thanks to a short run and three aces.

“We came out really strong in that first set and really on fire,” Maroons coach Sarah Betzinger said. “They still tried to maintain it, but they didn’t do as good a job as I’d hoped. I’m proud of the girls. They played some of the best volleyball I’ve seen them play all year.

“Then, (Gladstone) warmed up, and the hits started coming in. We weren’t quite prepared for it, and it ended up burning us in the end.”

The Braves fought back within two, 17-15, but then gave five points to the Maroons on errors to seal the set. Menominee’s Lani Holmes finished it off.

“The whole team did really well,” Betzinger said. “They finally came together as a team, and they were communicating well and working well with each other. They’re really starting to gel. They’ve found a way to communicate with each other. I’m happy to see that.”

Gladstone travels to Iron Mountain Thursday, while Menominee hosts Marquette.