Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette
Above: The Hancock Bulldogs celebrate with the Copper Spike trophy on Thursday at the Houghton High School gym. They downed the Houghton Gremlins 3-0.
By Eddie O’Neill
eoneill@mininggazette.com
HOUGHTON – The Hancock Bulldogs volleyball team went digging for copper on Thursday and struck the main vein by way of the Houghton Gremlins. The Bulldogs ended a decade-long drought by winning the Copper Spike 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-19). It was just the second time the Hancock girls had won the coveted trophy in its near 15-year history.
“It was a complete game for us,” noted Hancock coach Brian Lamppa. “We played steady and controlled what we could control. That has been our game plan all year.”
In the first set, Hancock’s Reese Driscoll pushed her team out to a 4-1 lead from the service lead. That morphed into a 16-10 difference by the second time she came up to serve. Teammate Brooke Koskela closed out the first with a service run of five, and the Bulldogs won 25-16.
The second set was Houghton’s best as they took their first real lead of the night at 5-2 and again at 12-9. However, the Bulldogs rallied back and tied it at 13 and 14. While the Gremlins regained the lead at 19-16, the Bulldogs preserved and won the race to 25.
Lamppa noted that staying the course has been something he has been preaching to his girls all season.
“We held our composure, served well and passed well,” he stated.
We kept them out of system. They have some bihitters, but they couldn’t get going.”
The third set opened with a back-and-forth battle. It was tied more than five times in the opening 12 points. After an 11-11 knot, however, Hancock’s Lynn Heinonen put some distance between their opponent with a service run off four and a score of 15-11. That push was what the Bulldogs needed to go on win this one 25-19.
This was the Bulldogs second win against their cross-canal rivals this season. Houghton coach Blaire Zenner noted that her girls played a little better than in earlier October, but not nearly enough against a strong team like Hancock.
“At time we played well but we weren’t consistent,” she said. We had too many hitting and service errors. You cannot miss serves against a good passing team like Hancock.”
To say that coach Lamppa was proud of his team would be an understatement.
“This win is for these girls,” he related. ” They work hard, and they have come a long way this year. To end the drought is a big win for them.”
UP NEXT
Next week is the last week of regular season play. The Gremlins will head to West Iron County to take on the Wykons on Tuesday. The Bulldogs will face the Calumet Copper Kings on Tuesday at home.