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MANISTIQUE -- Any questions?
The Calumet Copper Kings left no doubt they came ready to play here Thursday night in a surprisingly easy 3-0 (25-19, 25-8, 25-10) volleyball triumph over the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators in a Division 3 regional final.
Calumet (24-12-1) travels to Gaylord to face Roscommon (42-9-5) in a state quarterfinal Tuesday at 6 p.m. St. Francis finished 30-18-2.
"We're just enjoying the journey rather than worrying about scores from different matches," Calumet coach Kate Bonacorsi said. "I'm just so proud of them. They (St. Francis) are always tough. I think our intensity, focus and execution was there."
The Copper Kings led 6-1 before the Gladiators got a sideout on kill by senior middle hitter Lola Brown.
Calumet, which often played four in the back row on defense, got a sideout on a kill by senior Chloe Cappo prior to gaining an 11-2 cushion.
"We don't do that all the time," Coppo said. "We sometimes make adjustments. We felt the momentum was going our way after the first set. I didn't think it'd be like this. We were expecting a tough match. I thought we would have to fight for every single point. After the second set, Coach told us to keep our foot on the gas. We're very excited to be going downstate."
St. Francis trimmed its deficit to 11-4 on a kill by sophomore Lucy Wichern.
The Copper Kings answered with a 6-2 run, gaining a 16-6 cushion on back-to-back kills by senior Braylinn Antilla.
St. Francis trimmed its deficit to 22-10 on a kill by Brown.
Calumet sophomore Cali Hodges then got a sideout on a kill. Junior Annika Stafford added a kill before the match ended on a hitting miscue by St. Francis.
"We were disappointed in the way our season ended last year (in a 3-2 loss to West Iron County in a district opener)," Stafford said. "I think that lifted us up as a team. That really motivated us. I thought this match would be more competitive. We're really happy. I think we came out the way we should. This gives us a lot of momentum."
The opener was tied at 16 before Calumet went ahead on a kill through a double-block by Stafford.
St. Francis was still within 18-17 on a kill by Brown.
Another kill by Stafford then gave the Copper Kings a 20-17 cushion, forcing the Gladiators to use a time-out.
Following a hitting error, St. Francis shaved its deficit to 21-18.
A Gladiators' block, however, went out of bounds and a passing error enabled Calumet to go up by five points.
Calumet then capitalized on a hitting miscue before a block by Stafford ended the first set.
"We stayed the course and kept building our momentum," Bonacorsi said. "We just kept the pressure on them. Chloe Coppo was great tonight."
A service ace by senior Millie Loukus gave Calumet a 4-0 lead in the second.
Following a hitting miscue of their own, the Copper Kings got a sideout on a service error for a 5-1 cushion.
Senior Braylinn Antilla then provided Calumet with a six-point service run for an 11-1 advantage.
Calumet's lead ballooned to 17-4 on a kill by Stafford with that set ending on back-to-back kills by Coppo, who finished with nine kills, two blocks and three aces.
Stafford collected 11 kills and Hodges tallied six kills and two aces.
Senior setter Jess Anderson provided the Copper Kings with 31 assists, 12 digs and two blocks. Loukus contributed 10 digs and a trio of aces. Braylinn Antilla added four kills and three aces and Briana Antilla had three aces.