Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Escanaba’s Grayson LaMarche (left) spkes the ball past Menominee’s Haley Bouty (10) Thursday in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — The Escanaba volleyball team powered through three neck and neck sets to finish off Menominee in the fourth and earn a 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-20, 25-13) win Thursday in Escanaba.

The start of the fourth set heralded a change in the match as the Eskymos jumped ahead early, stringing together two or three points each run to the Maroons’ singles.

“Our ladies found their confidence as the sets progressed,” Esky coach Adam Lambert said. “The second set, we struggled a little bit with what was going on, but by the fourth set, we found it. The girls came ready to play. It’s our home court, it’s the first game, there’s always nerves.

“We played a couple tournaments already, (but) we didn’t have the fans there. Now, we’re playing in front of people, and they’re remembering that and thinking about that. I think this is going to be a great season for the Eskymos.”

Down 20-7, an Eskymos return landed out of bounds to give Menominee some momentum, cutting its deficit to 20-10 before Esky’s Mara Liss’ spike scored to regain possession.

“We got tired (in the third set), and they got frustrated and couldn’t snap themselves out of it,” Menominee coach Sarah Betzinger said. “They tried. They started coming back a little bit, but we had to fight to get back into it.”

Two kills from Katelyn Stalboerger and an ace from Zoe Wilson pushed the Eskymos within one (24-11) before an out-of-bounds return from Menominee sealed the set and the win for Escanaba.

“Katelyn Stalboerger is going to be one to watch this year,” Lambert said. “She’s our heavy middle hitter, and she’s going to be fun to watch. She opened up pretty well. She had some defensive moves. There was one time she was blocking on the net four or five times in one volley.”

The Maroons’ sole win was in the second set, with the Eskymos staying ahead for the majority of the set, including a four-point run from Stalboerger.

However, tied at 14, an Esky return went into the net to give the Maroons their first lead of the set.

The lead switched hands consistently until the Maroons pulled ahead on a spike from Emma Erdman and a double hit from Escanaba.

An Esky return into the net, and one out of bounds ended the set.

“They were setting it up and their coverage as well, and they were playing smart,” Betzinger said. “They’ll try something maybe a few more times than I want them to, but they’ll figure out it isn’t working. They’re smart players.

“They can adjust, and they see what’s happening out there. They can adjust amongst themselves to cover and pick it up. They’re a smart team and a good team. They like to play, and they like to play together. They all did really well tonight.”

Despite some serving and passing errors, Lambert is confident the team will iron out difficulties as the season goes on.

“Passing was a little rough, but we dialed that in,” Lambert said. “That’s what I’m talking about. These girls are in the spotlight with all these fans watching them as they serve the ball.

“That can get in your head a little bit, but we were 90% last year. I expect to be the same this year.”

Escanaba hosts Kingsford Tuesday, and Menominee visits Marinette for a triangular with Marinette and Peshtigo.