Escanaba's Mara Anderson and Ava Stalboeger attempt to make a play at the net in a game against Kingsford on Oct. 21, 2025. File Photo

ESCANABA — Halloween may still be several days away, but there was kind of an eerie feeling in the Escanaba High School gym on Parents’ Night as the hometown Eskymos struggled past Menominee in a Great Northern Conference volleyball match here Thursday.

A service error foiled the Maroons in the end as Esky escaped with a 3-2 (25-11, 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-10) triumph.

“We started really strong,” Esky coach Bev Ziebell said. “We try not to take any team for granted because you never know how the night is going to go, but I thought we were going to have an easy night after the first set. Then, they got it together in the second set. We came alive again in the fifth set. We made a lot of mistakes tonight.”

A kill by senior Mary Kate Tourangeau enabled the Eskymos to get out of the fourth set by the skin of their teeth.

The fifth set was tied at three before Esky went ahead on a block by senior Susan Moberg.

Junior Brooklyn Beauchamp added a kill and sophomore Mara Anderson hit a service ace, giving the Eskymos a 6-3 lead and forcing the Maroons to use a time-out.

Senior Erika Peterson’s kill provided Menominee with a sideout before Esky surged to a 10-5 lead on a kill by senior Landry Bray.

Junior Grace Averill brought the Maroons within 10-6 on a kill for a sideout.

Moberg answered with a kill before Menominee committed an error on a return, giving Esky a 12-6 advantage.

Esky led 14-8 following a serving miscue by the Maroons, but allowed them to get within 14-10 on a passing error.

“I hope they didn’t want to go home early,” Menominee coach Alan Milostan said. “Escanaba has some good hitters. We’re pretty happy with our defense. Five sets is always fun to go to because the girls want it bad enough.”

Menominee took a 21-19 lead in the fourth set when senior Jazmine Jasenovsky blocked a shot by Esky senior Ava Stahlboerger.

The Eskymos then rallied for a 24-22 lead before a kill by Peterson got the Maroons within a point.

Esky then finally secured the fourth on a kill by Tourangeau, forcing an all-important fifth set.

In the fourth, the Eskymos trailed 12-8 following a hitting miscue, then rallied to tie the score at 13 on a hitting error by the Maroons.

Menominee regained the lead when senior Emily Sandahl tipped the ball over the net for a kill.

The teams went back and forth through the remainder of the set before Esky pulled it out in the end.

The opener was close until Beauchamp started a 10-point service run.

During that run, Esky gained a 17-11 on back-to-back kills by Stahlboerger. Beauchamp also recorded a pair of aces, including one for the last point of that set.

“The girls are working hard,” Milostan said. “They want to win. I told them not to hang their heads.”

Jasenovsky started the second with a nine-point service run before Esky got a sideout on a kill by junior Ava Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick then hit seven service points in a row, helping the Eskymos close within 9-8 on a kill by Bray.

Menominee extended its lead to 16-10 on a return error by Esky.

The Eskymos, however, shaved their deficit to 18-15 on an ace by Coolman.

Menominee went up 20-15 on an ace by Jasenovsky before back-to-back kills by Bray brought Esky within 20-18.

Esky was trailing 22-19 before a block by Stahlboerger gave the Eskymos a sideout.

The Eskymos went ahead 23-22 on an ace by sophomore Mara Anderson.

A kill by Peterson tied the score and a net violation by the Eskymos enabled the Maroons to take a 24-23 lead.

The second set ended when Jasenovsky blocked a shot by Stahlboerger.

In the third, the Maroons took a 7-3 lead on an Esky service error.

Esky rallied to tie the score at nine on a service error by the Maroons.

Menominee, however, regained the lead on a four-hit infraction by Esky.

The Eskymos then led 13-10 on an ace by Coolman before the Maroons surged ahead 16-14.

Esky took a 19-18 lead on an ace by Beauchamp before Menominee regained the lead and took a 21-19 cushion when Jasenovsky again blacked a shot by Stahlboerger.

Moments later, Jasenovsky recorded another block, this time on Bray for a 23-20 advantage

Esky tied the score on a hitting miscue before committing service and defensive miscues to end the third set.

“Landry and Ava were on fire tonight, but we had a lot of serving and hitting errors,” Ziebell said. “We going to work on cleaning those up in practice.”

The Eskymos (14-11-1), who won the jayvee and freshman matches, host Marquette in their GNC finale Tuesday, then conclude their regular season at Manistique Thursday.

Menominee closes its regular season by hosting Stephenson Tuesday.