Mid Peninsula girls volleyball poses for a team photo after the game as part of their Dig For a Cure cancer fundraiser on Oct. 17, 2024 at Mid Peninsula High School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

ST. NICHOLAS — Parents, fans and members of the community came out in full support on Thursday as Rock-Mid Peninsula volleyball faced off against Stephenson in their Dig For a Cure breast cancer awareness night. Stephenson beat the Wolverines in three sets 25-19, 25-14, 25-15 here tonight.

The game took second place to a fundraising effort for Sherri Colvahouse, a breast cancer survivor who is currently fighting terminal cancer. The community was able to raise over $4,000 dollars for her.

“I want to thank all the members of the community for coming out to support this cause,” Mid Pen coach Emily Kayser said. “It’s important that everyone comes out to support community fundraisers and I’m proud of the way this community came out and I’m proud to be a part of this community.”

The second order of business was the game. A strong 11-1 start in the third set by the Eagles put them in control of the set early. Senior Jazmyn Havelka had five aces in an eight-point scoring run to start the first set.

The Wolverines fought back after a timeout trailing 17-4. The Wolverines scored 10 of the next 13 points and cut the deficit to 20-14. “We knew we couldn’t bury ourselves that much,” Kayser said. “We called timeout, we said we had to just play it one point at a time and dig deep and find some energy like we had in the first two sets.”

The Eagles responded, scoring five of the next six points to end the stanza.

The Wolverines did come out of the gate with a lot of energy taking a 5-0 lead in the first set on a pair of aces by junior Hope Brunngraeber. “Hope sets the pace for us,” Kayser said. “She is our captain. When she is on, the rest of the team feeds off of her energy.”

The Wolverines held the lead in the first stanza until the Eagles tied the game at 16. The Eagles extended the lead out to 21-16 but the Wolverines got the deficit down to five at 24-19. However they were not able to close the gap any further. “We played a little sloppy tonight,” Eagles coach Jackson Miller said. “I feel like we had moments in the game where we played well and moments when we didn’t.”

The Wolverines return to action on Tuesday as they host Superior Central.