ESCANABA — The Escanaba Eskymos came up short in their bid for an Elks Invitational volleyball title here Saturday, dropping a 25-15, 25-20 decision to the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils in the championship match.

Esky fell behind 17-8 on a hitting error in the second set before trimming its deficit to 18-14.

Back-to-back kills by Claire Erickson gave the Blue Devils a 22-14 advantage.

The Eskymos climbed within 24-20 on a kill by Harlee Coolman, but were then foiled by a serving miscue.

“I’m proud of their effort,” said Esky coach Adam Lambert. “Sault is a good and fast team. We handled them better in pool play (in a three-set loss). Against a team like the Sault you have to hit the ball first, but we struggled with our passing. They’ll be back here Wednesday. I’ll watch the video 5-6 times and see what we can do. We’re still undefeated in regular-season dual meets. I think that will motivate the girls.”

Esky was within 12-10 following a Sault hitting error in the first set before Sault extended its lead to 16-11 on a kill by Kenzie Bell.

The Eskymos were still within 17-13 on a kill by senior middle hitter Katelyn Stahlboeger.

Sault then surged to an insurmountable 23-14 advantage on a kill by Laura Innerebner.

“No. 23 (Stahlboeger) is super athletic and strong,” said Sault coach Stephanie Lynn. “They absolutely put up a fight in the second set and knew we had to slow her down. Their offensive game made our defense play harder. They’re pretty tough. They have the hitters and defenders.”

The Eskymos opened bracket play with a victory over Houghton, then defeated Marquette 25-18, 25-11.

“I’m happy with how everything went overall, especially in pool play,” said Marquette coach Ann Crandell-Williams. Taking Stephenson in three sets was a big win for us. They’re scrappy and fast.”

Cora Anderson led the Redettes with 16 kills. Hailey Ridolphi added 11 kills and 23 digs and Alyson McCarthy had 29 assists and 16 digs.

Sault defeated Stephenson 25-23, 25-11 in the semifinals.

The Blue Devils, who trailed most of the first set, secured the decision on a kill by Innerebner.

“That’s a very, very good team,” said Stephenson coach Jackson Miller. “They’re probably the best team we’ve seen this year. Our girls played real hard. After the first set, the other team picked it up a notch. We started giving them too many freeballs and they took advantage of that.”

Stephenson visits Carney-Nadeau Wednesday and Mid Peninsula Thursday.