Pickford Wins 'Purple Pebble' Volleyball Tourney
GLADSTONE---The bad news came at 2:10 Friday afternoon. The motors had died in the mechanism that lifts the basketball hoops to the ceiling inside the Gladstone High School Gym. New motors would not arrive until Monday, and the hoops would the stuck in the "down" position for the entire weekend. Ten teams from across the Upper Peninsula were scheduled to compete. But with the hoops blocking one of the courts, there was only one court available to play volleyball. Gladstone Athletic Director Matt Houle had to pick up the phone. Houle called Houghton, Hancock, Pickford, Norway, Kingsford, Gwinn and Westwood and told them that the tournament would have to be cancelled. "You can't run a ten-team tournament with only one court," Houle said. Well, the Pickford team was already on its way from the Eastern U.P., so the decision was made to have a smaller tournament on Saturday, using the one court. With all of the food already ordered, rosters printed, officials assigned, volunteers ready to go, Houle and Coach Liz Gendron tried to salvage the day. And it turned out to be a pretty fun day of volleyball, especially for the Pickford Panthers. The Panthers swept all four of its matches to win the tournament. Pickford beat Escanaba in the championship match, 2-0, by scores of 25-22 and 25-20. Escanaba finished with a 3-2 record, Gladstone went 1-3, and Rapid River was 0-4. All of the scores are posted below. Also, click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS section above to see photos and videos. Gladstone Volleyball Invitational Round-Robin Pool-Play Pickford 2, Escanaba 0 (25-18, 25-13) Gladstone 2, Rapid River 0 (25-21, 25-19) Pickford 2, Rapid River 0 (25-11, 25-14) Escanaba 2, Gladstone 0 (25-17, 25-20) Pickford 2, Gladstone 0 (25-15, 25-17) Escanaba 2, Rapid River 0 (25-15, 25-12) Semifinal Round Pickford 2, Rapid River 0 (25-14, 25-14) Escanaba 2, Gladstone 0 (26-24, 25-15) Championship Match Pickford 2, Escanaba 0 (25-22, 25-20)
The Pickford Panthers players relax in the Gladstone Commons during a break on Saturday afternoon.
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