ESCANABA — It was a painful ending to Escanaba’s volleyball season as it fell to the Houghton Gremlins 3-2 (21-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-10) in a Division 2 district semifinal match here Wednesday night.

Esky pushed the Gremlins to the brink of elimination in the third set, gaining a 24-20 lead on a tip kill by senior middle hitter Katelyn Stahlboerger.

Houghton got a sideout on a defensive error, however, and rallied to take that set on back-to-back passing errors by the Eskymos.

“It took grit and determination to take that set,” said Houghton coach Blaire Zenner. “We were on the verge of elimination. It was now or never. We had nothing to lose and so much more to gain. Winning that set gave us a lot of momentum. Having grit and determination and the confidence to take chances goes a long way.”

Esky took a 9-5 lead on a Gremlins’ passing error in the fourth set.

A kill by junior Danica Ryyanen provided the Gremlins with a sideout before they surged to a 12-9 lead on back-to-back kills by classmate Bryn Arko.

The Eskymos were still within 15-14 before a service ace by Arko gave the Gremlins a two-point lead.

Houghton started to pull away and clinched the fourth on a kill by Ryyanen.

Esky gained an 8-4 lead in the fifth on a kill by senior Mari Bink.

The Gremlins, however, surged to an 11-8 lead on two straight Esky hitting miscues.

A block by sophomore Grayson LaMarche brought the Eskymos within 11-10 before the Gremlins sealed the verdict.

“This was unexpected,” said Esky coach Adam Lambert. “With only one loss in dual matches coming in here, we didn’t expect to be done in the second round. It’s not that Houghton doesn’t deserve to win. In fact, they’re a good team. We had match point in the third set. That ordinarily doesn’t happen in our program, but it did. They just grabbed the momentum and hung on to it. We were being too cautious. We weren’t pounding the ball like we did in the first two sets.”

The Eskymos took a 4-0 lead in the opener on back-to-back kills by Harlee Coolman before Houghton rallied to tie the score at five on a kill by senior Stella Wickstrom.

Esky gained a 10-5 lead on a Gremlins’ hitting miscue, but Houghton again came back and tied the count at 11 on an Esky hitting error.

The first set stayed close with Houghton still within 23-21 on an Esky passing error.

Houghton then lost the serve on a two-hit violation and LaMarche secured that set with a kill.

The second set was tied at 10 before the Eskymos got a sideout and Coolman provided them with a five-point run.

A block and kill by Stahlboerger provided a 16-10 cushion for Esky, which pulled away for a two-set advantage.

“We were aggressive even when we didn’t have the momentum,” said Zenner. “We got our opportunities to find the holes at the net by not giving up when we were down.”

Arko hit three aces to go with 11 kills and 21 digs. Wickstrom added nine kills and 11 blocks. Sophomore setter Laney Johnson collected 35 assists and 19 digs. Senior Jiani Tang tallied 24 digs and senior Bryn Lamppa had 16.

Stahlboerger led the Eskymos with 20 kills and four blocks. LaMarche added 11 kills and three blocks. Aleaha Lambert chipped in with eight kills and eight digs. Bink had five kills, nine assists and 17 digs and Salo recorded 27 assists and 20 digs.

“We still had a good season,” said coach Lambert. “The kids have a lot to be proud of. When we hold our banquet, we’re going to celebrate.”

Houghton — Arko (three aces, 11 kills, 21 digs); Johnson (two aces, 35 assists, 19 digs); Wickstrom (nine kills, 11 blocks); Tang (24 digs); Lamppa (16 digs).

Escanaba — Stahlboerger (three aces, 20 kills, four blocks, seven digs); LaMarche (two aces, 11 kills, three blocks, seven digs); Coolman (two aces, five kills, one assist, 13 digs); Lambert (one ace, eight kills, eight digs); Salo (one ace, 27 assists, 20 digs); McInerney (one kill, eight digs); Boosamra (13 digs).