Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Escanaba volleyball coach Adam Lambert (center) talks to his team during a timeout against Gladstone in Escanaba Tuesday.

ESCANABA — The Escanaba Eskymos remained undefeated in the Great Northern Conference here Tuesday night, posting a 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-17) volleyball victory over the Gladstone Braves.

Gladstone took a 13-12 lead in the first set before a two-hit violation enabled Esky (5-0 GNC) to tie the score.

Esky took the lead on a service ace by Harlee Coolman and extended it to 17-13 before committing a hitting error, enabling the Braves to shave their deficit to three points.

The Eskymos, however, didn’t allow them to get any closer.

“We opened with a completely different rotation,” said Esky coach Adam Lambert. “We tried some new things and worked on a lot of other things. I think there were a little bit of nerves because we had girls playing different positions in the first set. We moved Mari Bink to setter and Carney Salo to defensive specialist, and I felt she did well.”

A six-point service run by Coolman gave the Eskymos an 8-1 cushion in the second set.

Gladstone then got a sideout before Esky extended its lead to 12-2 on a kill by sophomore Grayson LaMarche.

The Braves moved within 12-6, then committed two straight hitting miscues before an ace by Mara Liss gave the Eskymos a 15-6 advantage.

Following a Braves’ service error, Salo served for five consecutive points to put Esky up 22-7.

The second set then ended on a Gladstone passing error.

“I think we got their attention in the first set,” said Braves coach Averi Kanyuh. “We passed the ball well on service receives and prepared our hitters. This is the first time we finished strong in the first set.”

The Eskymos, behind a seven-point run by Salo, gained a 19-6 advantage in the third.

A lift violation gave and a variety of other miscues trimmed Esky’s lead to 19-11.

Esky made it 21-11 on a Braves’ net violation and hitting miscue.

Gladstone then climbed within 21-16 on back-to-back kills by freshman Lillie Johnson, but was unable to get any closer.”

“Lillie got some nice kills for us,” said Kanyuh. “The girls showed some fight. As long as we keep playing our game, we’ll keep improving.”

Senior Katelyn Stalboerger provided the Eskymos with nine kills. Bink added five kills and 12 assists. Coolman had three kills, and Salo collected seven digs.

Johnson led the Braves with five kills.

“They had their moments,” said Lambert. “It looked like Johnson had a couple blocks on Stalboerger. She did all right.”

The teams resume tonight, with Esky hosting Marquette and Gladstone hosting Kingsford. Both matches start at 7.

Escanaba — Stahlboerger (two aces, nine kills, two digs); Liss (two aces, five assists, three digs); Salo (two aces, seven digs); Bink (one ace, five kills, 12 assists, two digs); Lambert (one ace, two kills, one assist); Coolman (three kills, four digs); LaMarche (three kills, two digs); Cooper (one kill, one dig).