The Escanaba High School Gym was full of spikes and digs on Saturday as the annual Elks Invitational was held on a hot, humid day.
Ten teams played four pool matches, and the top four teams advanced to the semifinals. Escanaba defeated Ishpeming, Forest Park defeated Cheboygan, and then Forest Park won the championship over Escanaba, 2-0.
Forest Park, behind its star hitter Ava Fischer, won all six of its matches in straight sets to improve to 29-1-0 on the season. The Trojans are ranked No. 1 in the Upper Peninsula.
Escanaba, with barely a .500 record for the season, had a strong day on its home court behind the hitting of Ava Stalboerger. The Eskymos shook off a rough 2-0 loss to Westwood in pool play to beat Cheboygan and the top spot in the pool. The Eskymos then faced Ishpeming, led by Baylor University recruit Mya Hemmer in the semifinal. The Esklymos won that match fairly easily, 25-16 and 25-19, while the Trojans cruised by Cheboygan, 25-19 and 25-13.
In the championship match, the play was back-and-forth, with the Trojans winning, 25-22, 25-20. Escanaba's season record improved to 12-9-1 after winning four of six matches on Saturday,
All of the scores are posted below. Click the thumbnails to see photos and video highlights.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Forest Park 2, Escanaba 0 (25-22, 25-20)
SEMIFINALS
Escanaba 2, Ishpeming 0 (25-16, 25-19)
Forest Park 2, Cheboygan 0 (25-19, 25-13)
POOL PLAY RESULTS
Escanaba 2, Cheboygan 0 (25-20, 25-19)
Westwood 2, Escanaba 0 (25-20, 25-20)
Rudyard 1, Cheboygan 1 (25-19, 23-25)
Escanaba 2, Newberry 0 (25-13, 25-19)
Newberry 2, Westwood 0 (25-14, 25-22)
Escanaba 2, Rudyard 0 (25-20, 25-20)
Cheboygan 2, Westwood 0 (25-20, 25-11)
Cheboygan 2, Newberry 0 (25-20, 25-17)
Rudyard 2, Newberry 0 (27-26, 25-21)
Rudyard 2, Westwood 0 (25-18, 25-18)
Forest Park 2, Bark River-Harris 0 (25-14, 25-13)
Forest Park 2, Ishpeming 0 (27-25, 25-13)
Forest Park 2, Manistique 0 (25-17, 25-12)
Forest Park 2, Sault Ste. Marie 0 (25-17, 25-18)
Ishpeming 2, Bark River-Harris 0 (25-19, 25-14)
Ishpeming 2, Manistique 0 (25-18, 27-26)
Sault Ste, Marie 1, Ishpeming 1 (15-25, 25-21)
Manistique 2, Bark River-Harris 0 (25-7, 25-8)
Manistique 1, Sault Ste. Marie 1
Sault Ste. Marie 2, Bark River-Harris 0 (25-12, 25-14)
