Hancock’s Emily L’Esperance sets up a ball for a Bulldog hitter on Thursday in their game against Houghton Gremlins in Hancock.

By Eddie O’Neill

eoneill@mininggazette.com

HANCOCK- It was a preview of sorts for the upcoming Copper Spike and the Hancock Bulldogs put the spike in the Houghton Gremlins on the volleyball court on Thursday. They earned a 3-0 sweep with scores of 25-23, 25-15 and 25-15.

As with any rival game, Hancock’s coach Brina Lampaa knew what he was getting into.

“Houghton has some good hitters,” he said. “They were not able to run their offense as we kept the pressure on them.”

That pressure started in the first set with Veada Brooks on the line. She pushed the Bulldogs out to a 5-1 advantage. That was then a seven-point lead at 19-12 with a big kill by senior hitter Brooke Koskela.

“Brooke had a good game,” noted her coach. “She had a lot of kills and not a lot of misses.”

The Gremlins however were able to bounce back and tie this one at 23 with Jacey Sleeman at line. However, the Bulldogs put this one away in the race to 25.

In the second set, The Hancock girls again took an early lead. With Sofie Freeman on the line, the Bulldogs moved from 6-3 lead to a 10-4 score. They never looked back and won 25-15.

“We served really well tonight,” said Lampaa. “We did not give them many points off serves or miss played balls.”

Houghton’s coach, Blair Zenner, admitted as much.

“We gave them too many free balls,” We were one and done at the service line hitting the ball into the net.”

She added that Hanock served well and kept her girls on the defense.

That was certainly true in the third set as momentum was with the Bulldogs. With Reese Driscoll on the line a 7-3 Bulldog lead turned into an 11-4 lead and an eventual 25-15 match-point win.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs will welcome the L’Anse Purple Hornets to their gym on Monday at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, The Gremlins are headed to Wrightstown, WI for a tournament this weekend.

The Copper Spike between these two teams is slated for Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at Houghton.