Bulldogs Ice Out The Eskomos

October 1st, 2014

Tyler Peterson-NSO

One of the biggest rivalries in the Northland for volleyball is the match-up between the Carlton Bulldogs and the Esko Eskomos. In a gym packed full of fans, the Bulldogs pulled out their first win against Esko since 2007 when they swept them. The Bulldogs won 3 matches to 1, taking the first two 25-23 and 25-13 before falling 25-22 in the third. The Bulldogs sealed the deal with a 25-14 win in the fourth match in a game that might have decided the Polar League Conference champion.

The first match started out neck and neck, tied at 10-10 midway through after the Bulldogs battled back from a 8-3 deficit. Carlton would get on a roll from there, taking the 15-12 lead, forcing an Esko timeout, and eventually winning the match 25-23 after being led by Grace Macor’s 6 kills.

In match 2, the Bulldogs were dominate, taking advantage of Eskomos miscues, including three out of rotation infractions in a row. The Bulldogs stormed out to a quick 6-1 lead. Carlton would continue to roll, going up 11-2. The Eskomos had no answers for the tough Bulldogs team as Carlton increased their lead to 16-6, and hit their way to the 25-13 victory.

Esko would battle back in match 3 after Carlton gained the 15-11 advantage. Esko tied the match up at 16-16 and went on to take the 21-19 lead which forced a Bulldogs timeout. The timeout wouldn’t affect the Eskomos much, as they maintained their lead while on their way to the 25-22 victory to cut into the Bulldogs lead.

Carlton came out with a vengeance in match 4, going up 12-7 early in the match. Carlton would remain in control on the match, jumping to a large 23-13 lead over the Eskomos and eventually winning the match 25-14 to get the key victory on the night.

Grace Macor and Jessica Stanslaski both had spectacular games in the win for the Bulldogs, each tallying 14 kills, along with Macy Belich pitching in 7 kills on the evening. Amanda Groth had a great day of serving, racking up an impressive 5 kills. Also, Hannah Benson and Brianna Walton tallied 21 and 15 set assists respectively in the big Polar League victory.

In the loss for the Eskomos, Molly Trapp racked up 15 kills. Karinne Houser pitched in 7 kills as well. Marais Houser and Gianna Jubie each had nice days of setting, both tallying 12 set assists on the night.

The Bulldogs improve to 15-4 on the season and will look for another Polar League win when they play the Floodwood Polar Bears (4-11) on October 2nd. The Eskomos drop to 9-8 on the season and will look to bounce back against a tough Moose Lake-Willow River Rebels (16-3) team on October 2nd.

Tyler Peterson can be contacted at tpeterson@northlandsportsonline.com