Todd Rose | Daily Press Mid Peninsula’s Allyson Lancour (24) knocks the ball over the net as Superior Central’s Emily Augustyn (8) goes for the block Thursday night in Munising.

MUNISING — For the second year in a row, the Mid Peninsula Wolverines are district champions. It is the first time the school has ever won back-to-back district titles in volleyball.

The Wolverines got the 3-1 win (25-20, 13-25, 25-19, 25-17) over the Superior Central Cougars Thursday night in Munising.

“The girls have worked all season for this,” said Wolverines’ coach Emily Kayser. “To win back-to-back, it’s Mid Pen’s first time having this happen for them. These girls are still just making history for Mid Pen.”

With the score tied 9-9 in the fourth set, Mid Pen’s Shaelyn Lampien stepped in to serve. She led the team on a five-point run, putting the period on it with an ace.

The Cougars and Wolverines traded blows until Mid Pen led 17-12, and Wolverines’ senior Allyson Lancour then helmed a six-point run to bring the score to 22-12.

Superior Central answered back with a short run, but it wasn’t enough.

In addition to five aces in 27 serves, Lancour also had a strong night making four blocks and scoring six kills.

“I just really wanted to win this one and I had to do all that to get it over,” said Lancour. “We really needed this district for the back-to-back and I just wanted to do it.”

After winning the first set, the Wolverines dropped the second, losing by 12.

Superior Central’s Emma Rutter started the set off in a big way for the Cougars with five consecutive aces. She added a sixth on a run that totaled eight points. Rutter totaled nine aces on the night. The Wolverines were never able to recover the rest of the set.

“We suffered really bad with our serve receive right in the very beginning there,” said Kayser of the second set. “We cleaned it up in the third and fourth.”

The third set started similarly to the second with another run from the Cougars to grab the early lead 9-3. This time it was Maggie Rondeau piloting the team. She earned three aces in the seven-point run.

Two runs from the Wolverines put them back in contention for the set. The first, a short run led by Shaelyn Lampinen, who led the team in aces with 7, tied the score at 14. The second, a five-point run led by Lancour, put Mid Pen ahead 22-17. They held the lead to the end.

First-year libero Kora Prater made several key saves through the night for the Wolverines, collecting 16 digs.

“Kora has made some incredible saves for us all season long,” Kayser said. “I hope to see her continue doing that for us in the regionals.”

Daisy Englund led the Wolverines in assists with 16, while Landy Koski had 11 kills to lead in that category.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them right now,” said Kayser. “They’re just playing great team volleyball right now.”

The Wolverines will now head to regionals to face the Carney-Nadeau Wolves in a rematch from last year that went the way of the Wolves.

For the Cougars, the season comes to an end. However, with a young team, coach Kris Bray says the team will try using this loss to grow and learn heading into next season.

“They’re young,” said Bray. “Most of my players are juniors and sophomores, so this is a good experience for them. Hopefully, we can build upon it for next year.”

For the Cougars, this season’s goal was about getting better as the year went on, said Bray.

“Our level of play went from just kind of average to above average and even excellent at times,” she said. “That’s the process I wanted.”

Riley Johnson led the Cougars in kills with 10, while Charlotte Charlebois tallied 13 assists to lead the team. Leading Superior Central in aces was Emma Rutter with nine.

The three girls, according to Bray, are the Cougars’ leaders on the court.

“We count on them for many points,” she said. “When they’re on, usually the team is on.”

With some building blocks already in place for the 2021 season, Bray is already excited for what the future holds for the Cougars.

“I’m looking forward to it already,” she said.

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