ESCANABA — The Escanaba Eskymos overcame a sluggish start as they regrouped in plenty of time to reach the championship match of the Elks Invitational volleyball tournament here Saturday.

Crystal Falls Forest Park, however, retained its title by outlasting the Eskymos 25-22, 25-20.

Esky dropped a 25-20, 25-20 decision to Ishpeming Westwood in its opener, then racked up four straight victories before meeting the Trojans for the second straight year in the finals.

“We ended up playing pretty good together,” Esky coach Bev Ziebell said. “We were strong at the net today. This team practices a lot everyday and the girls are coming around. Second out of 10 teams isn’t bad. It’s nice playing teams we normally don’t see during the season. All in all this was a good tournament.”

A service ace by junior Sarah Carter brought the Eskymos within 20-19 in the second set against Forest Park.

The Trojans responded with three unanswered points, gaining a 23-19 cushion on a kill by sophomore Harper Anderson.

Esky then committed a service error and a defensive miscue, enabling the Trojans to improve to 29-1 with their 25th consecutive victory.

“This feels good,” Trojans’ senior outside hitter Ava Fischer said. “We were really tired. We had homecoming last night, but we had the drive to do well today. We’ve been going since Tuesday.”

Their only loss took place to Saginaw Valley Lutheran in the semifinals at the Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart Invitational Aug. 23.

“We learned a lot from that tournament,” Fischer said. “I think it was really good to gain that experience.”

An ace by senior Mary Kate Tourangeau gave Esky a 3-0 lead in the finale.

The Trojans surged to an 8-4 lead following a net violation by the Eskymos.

A kill by senior Susie Moberg, however, pulled Esky even at 11.

Forest Park then got a sideout on a service error by the Eskymos and an ace by senior Elsie Williams gave the Trojans a 13-11 lead.

The Trojans then extended their lead to 17-13 on three consecutive defensive miscues by Esky.

Esky got within 18-17 before a kill by Fischer gave the Trojans a sideout and a two-point lead.

The Eskymos, however, were unable to gain the upper hand.

In the first set, the score was tied at 19 before Esky committed a four-hit violation and passing miscue.

A four-hit violation then foiled the Eskymos who were unable to catch the Trojans down the stretch.

Fischer provided Forest Park with a kill and 6-3 lead, then added a pair of kills to make it 8-7 in the Trojans’ favor.

A kill by Williams gave the Trojans a 10-7 lead.

Esky responded with a 6-2 run, taking a 13-12 lead on a kill by senior Harlee Coolman.

The Eskymos, however, were unable to hang on to the lead.

Esky reached the title match with a 25-16, 25-19 triumph over Ishpeming and Forest Park advanced with a 25-19, 25-13 victory over Cheboygan.

After bowing to Westwood in their opener, the Eskymos defeated Newberry (25-19, 25-13), Rudyard (25-20, 25-20) and Cheboygan (25-20, 25-19) in pool play.

Manistique rolled past Bark River-Harris 25-7, 25-8 in its opener. The Emeralds then fell to Ishpeming (25-18, 27-26) and Forest Park (27-17, 25-13) before splitting with Sault Ste. Marie (25-22, 22-25).

“I’m really proud of our effort,” Emeralds’ coach Amy Nixon said. “I received compliments from the referees how well our girls played for each other. We definitely played well against the Sault. It felt like we were in control in the first set. It was nice to see other teams and work on some things.”

Manistique junior Aaliyah Sears hit five service aces and sophomore Kendyl Flodin added four aces and 38 digs.

Junior setter Ashlyn Jones collected 41 assists. Seniors Kyra and Maya Carlson had 17 and 13 kills, respectively.

Beside its loss to Manistique, BR-H bowed to Ishpeming (25-19, 25-14), Sault (25-12, 25-14) and Forest Park (25-14, 25-13).

The Broncos host Esky Tuesday and the Emeralds visit Negaunee Tuesday.