Rob Roos | Sault Evening News Escanaba’s Katelyn Stalborger (23) attacks while Sault Ste. Marie’s Claire Erickson tries to block at the net during Thursday’s volleyball match. The Blue Devils outlasted the Eskymos 3-2 in the non-conference match.

SAULT STE. MARIE — If the Sault High vs. Escanaba match was a glimpse of the district final, volleyball fans will want to line up for the full show.

The Blue Devils had to dig deep after dropping the first two sets in a non-conference match in their home gym Thursday night. The Sault found an extra gear to rally back and topple the Eskymos 3-2 (26-28, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-12).

The teams were very familiar with each other, having just met at the Escanaba Elks Invitational this past Saturday. The Sault beat Esky 2-0 in the semifinals of the Elks and went on to claim the tournament title. The Blue Devils and Eskymos are also in the same upcoming Division 2 district, and if both advance, they could meet again in the district final Nov. 4.

“We really enjoy playing strong teams, and the Sault is a strong team,” Escanaba coach Adam Lambert said. “We played them at our place last week, and we know they’re good. So, we just focused on playing the best we can, and we came out strong. We did well but fell a little short. There are some things we can clean up and get better for next time. Our plan is to see them again in the final of districts, and hopefully, we walk away with a trophy.”

A long bus trip didn’t slow down the Eskymos, who came out swinging and won the first two sets, 28-26 and 25-20. Junior Katelyn Stalboerger got involved in the Esky attack early and finished with a match-leading 22 kills.

The Blue Devils did have their chances in the first set and held match point 24-22 after a tip kill from senior setter Hanna Burd, but the Eskymos, feeding off the energy of the cheering from their freshman and JV teams, pulled out the set 28-26 to lead 1-0. Esky continued its momentum, again pulling away down the stretch of the second set while extending its match lead to 2-0.

The third set was tied at 13 before the Blue Devils put together eight straight points, their longest streak of the night. Jayla Jorgensen served during the stretch, while Claire Erickson began to pile up kills during the Sault surge. The Blue Devils went on to win the set 25-16.

The teams traded runs of points in the fourth set, but Sault High had the last push. Erickson continued to be the kills leader from the middle, while Kenzie Bell also got more involved in the attack from the outside, and Avery Benoit led the back-row defense.

The final set was tied at nine before Burd served three straight points to make it 12-9. Now firing on all cylinders and getting contributions from throughout the lineup, the Blue Devils did not give up the lead again. The Sault closed out the set 15-12, taking the match 3-2.

“We did our classic dig ourselves a hole and have to come back out of it,” Sault High coach Vince Gross said of Thursday’s match. “Tonight, we made it out. A couple weeks ago, against Alpena, we couldn’t dig out of it. The girls showed a lot of grit and just played their tails off to come back. They are a little tired after playing so much volleyball lately.

“We knew we kind of have a target on our backs now, after going over and beating some Western U.P. teams and winning the Escanaba tournament. Escanaba looked like they wanted it more than we did in the first two sets tonight.”

Bailey Barron had 12 kills and 12 digs, while Grayson LaMarche had 10 kills and six digs for the Eskymos. Mari Bink dished out 23 assists and added nine kills and eight digs, while McKayla Mott had 20 assists, seven digs and two aces. Zoe Wilson added 10 digs, and Mya Whitson had eight kills and three digs.

“We might have caught the Sault off guard the first two sets,” Lambert said. “They were kind of on their heels against our hitters at first. But the Sault was different the last three sets. They started clicking and got right back into it. It was great, fun volleyball. Good team and good coaching, and we couldn’t ask for a better match. I can’t complain.”

Benoit finished with 24 digs, while adding 15 kills and three aces for the Blue Devils. Erickson hit 18 kills, four blocks and three digs, while Burd dished out 45 assists and had 22 digs and three kills. Faith White had 14 digs and 12 kills, while Jorgensen had 25 digs, and Bell had 12 digs and two blocks.

Escanaba returns to Great North Conference action with a home match against Kingsford Tuesday.