Esky felled by Kingsford in finals
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KINGSFORD -- The Kingsford High School hosted a total of 12 teams Saturday afternoon for the Kingsford Invitational volleyball tournament to kick off the 2021 volleyball season.
In the finals, the second seed Kingsford Flivvers defeated the first seeded Escanaba Eskymos (25-17, 24-26, 15-12) to win the invitational.
"It's great," said Flivvers coach Jaclynn Kreider. "This is a group of girls that worked really, really, hard this summer -- and this week especially -- putting in a lot of long hours. To see it pay off with some intense games and having to fight back and coming back and being able to win like that is (great)."
For Kreider, there was the bonus of winning the home invitational for the first time as a coach.
"I've never won this tournament as a coach, so it's that much sweeter," she said.
After splitting the first two sets, Kingsford overcame an early five-point deficit to take the win.
Escanaba went up early with a five-point run helmed by Aleaha Lambert.
After the fifth point of the run, Kingsford regrouped with a timeout and scored immediately to get themselves on the board.
With Madelynn Kreider serving -- acing her first serve -- the Flivvers closed it to within one, though the Eskymos followed with two more points to make it 7-5.
Again, Kingsford responded with three quick scores, including an ace from Grace Roberts, to tie it at seven.
From there, it was a tug of war with the difference-maker being a quick run from 10 to 13 for the Flivvers -- with Talia Wallis serving -- that put them up 13-11 and in position to win.
Despite Escanaba scoring once more, the Flivvers held on to take the win 15-12.
Coach Kreider commended the entire Flivvers squad for the win.
"I think it was all around," she said about the team's performance. "There is not a single kid in my mind that did any more or any less than anybody else. I think it just took everybody today. We had moments where kids were doing great things, and there were other times where we're struggling. It didn't matter. We knew we could go to someone else."
To reach the finals, Kingsford beat the Negaunee Miners -- who defeated the Iron Mountain Mountaineers in the quarterfinals -- in three sets.
The path for the Eskymos was similar, with a three-set victory over the North Dickinson Nordics in the semifinals. The victory in the third set for Escanaba came thanks to a 10-point run with Katelyn Stahlboerger serving that put the Mo's at 15 for the win.
The Nordics beat the Trojans of Forest Park in the quarterfinals.
Escanaba coach Adam Lambert said the tournament result was both a positive start to the 2021 season and a bit of a surprise.
"We never know how that first tournament is going to be," Lambert said. "The girls have been playing together just a week and a half, two weeks maybe. You never know how it's going to be until you get to the courts. We made it through to the finals, which is something Escanaba really doesn't do that first tournament. This is something for Escanaba at this Kingsford tournament."
Lambert -- who mentioned Bailey Barron as a standout for the Eskymos in the tournament -- added that there are both good takeaways and things that need to be improved following the weekend.
"Are there things to work on? Absolutely," he said. "But we saw that from all the teams tonight. We all had our moments where it was amazing. We all had our moments like ok, I'm writing that down, we're working on that in practice."
Lambert also noted Kingsford and North Dickinson as two tough teams.
"Kingsford has a great program, so it was no surprise to see them at the finish line with us," he said. "(North Dickinson) were a great program. They came in and gave us a challenge. I thought at some moments they were going to take us out in the semifinals, but we held strong."