Eskymos Outlast Maroons In Homecoming Match
ESCANABA---It was a volleyball match that was more like a circus ride. If you went to the first two games of Tuesday night's match between Escanaba and Menominee, you would have sworn that the Eskymos were the better team. After all, the Eskymos dominated both of those games, winning, 25-15 and 25-12. So, that sent us to a fifth game for the second time this season between these two Great Northern Conference rivals. Menominee won earlier this season in five. Not this time! In a see-saw fifth set, both teams served for the match. But the smallest girls on the Eskymo team, J.J. Laviolette, served for three straight points, including a pair of aces, as Escanaba won the fifth set, 17-15, and won the match, 3-2. "I was very excited with the first two games, and then we kind of let ourselves go with a few errors," Escanaba Coach Theresa Heidt said. "We've been working on our offense all week. Offense is the key. Our serving...we had very few serving errors." And it had to be, as the young Laviolette stepped up to serve with the match on the line. "J.J. is not a nervous server," Heidt said. "She's very confident, and I know she can put it over the net every time." So, what did Heidt tell the girls during that time-out with the match on the line? "I told them to get whatever they had in their head, to get that out of their head," she said. "Play their game. Not the other team's game." TUESDAY'S OTHER UPPER PENINSULA SCORES Marquette 3, Gladstone 1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-20, 25-15) Bark River-Harris 3, North Central 0 Bark River-Harris 3, Carney-Nadeau 0 North Central 3, Carney-Nadeau 0 Munising 3, Rapid River 0 Gwinn 3, Ishpeming 1 Norway 3, Negaunee 1 Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the match, and hear Coach Heidt's post-game comments. |