The big "Rock Inivitational" is scheduled for this Saturday in Gladstone, featuring some of the best volleyball teams from across the Upper Peninsula.
The Escanaba Eskymos and Gladstone Braves were both in action Thursday night, playing "tune-up" matches before Saturday's big event.
GLADSTONE 3, NORWAY 2---This match went back-and-forth all night long inside the Norway High School Gym.
The Braves won the first set, 25-17, but the Knights came back to win the bext two, 25-20 and 28-26. Gladstone tied the match with a 26-24 win in the fourth set, then won the match with a 15-11 score in the deciding fifth set.
"It was a very exciting match for the players and the fans," Gladstone Coach Liz Gendron said. "There were some great rallies. Both teams matched up well. Neither team could gain a safe lead in asny of the sets. Both teams should be happy with their performance."
Gladstone's junior varsity team beat Norway, 2-0.
STEPHENSON 3, ESCANABA 2---This match also went back-and-forth all night long inside the Stephenson High School Gym.
The Eagles won the first set, 25-20, but the Eskymos tied the match with a win in Game Two, 25-22. The Eagles regained the advantage by winning the third set, 25-21, but the Eskymos forced a fifth game with a 25-23 win. The fifth and deciding set went down to the wire as well, with the Eagles pulling it out, 15-13.
"Rallies were well played by both teams," Escanaba Coach Bron Harmon said. "I thought the match would have been much shorter if both teams had served better.
"For us, this was the poorest serving performance so far this season, but it was our best hitting performance. We continue to make improvements in the system each time we compete."
Escanaba's notable stats:
Holly Ettenhofer.........5 kills, 19 assists, 7 digs
Ashley Cook................10 digs
Kami Fritz...................6 kills
Alliyah Edwards..........4 aces, 13 kills, 7 digs
Kathy Wellman............5 kills, 6 digs
The Escanaba Eskymos and Gladstone Braves were both in action Thursday night, playing "tune-up" matches before Saturday's big event.
GLADSTONE 3, NORWAY 2---This match went back-and-forth all night long inside the Norway High School Gym.
The Braves won the first set, 25-17, but the Knights came back to win the bext two, 25-20 and 28-26. Gladstone tied the match with a 26-24 win in the fourth set, then won the match with a 15-11 score in the deciding fifth set.
"It was a very exciting match for the players and the fans," Gladstone Coach Liz Gendron said. "There were some great rallies. Both teams matched up well. Neither team could gain a safe lead in asny of the sets. Both teams should be happy with their performance."
Gladstone's junior varsity team beat Norway, 2-0.
STEPHENSON 3, ESCANABA 2---This match also went back-and-forth all night long inside the Stephenson High School Gym.
The Eagles won the first set, 25-20, but the Eskymos tied the match with a win in Game Two, 25-22. The Eagles regained the advantage by winning the third set, 25-21, but the Eskymos forced a fifth game with a 25-23 win. The fifth and deciding set went down to the wire as well, with the Eagles pulling it out, 15-13.
"Rallies were well played by both teams," Escanaba Coach Bron Harmon said. "I thought the match would have been much shorter if both teams had served better.
"For us, this was the poorest serving performance so far this season, but it was our best hitting performance. We continue to make improvements in the system each time we compete."
Escanaba's notable stats:
Holly Ettenhofer.........5 kills, 19 assists, 7 digs
Ashley Cook................10 digs
Kami Fritz...................6 kills
Alliyah Edwards..........4 aces, 13 kills, 7 digs
Kathy Wellman............5 kills, 6 digs
