Esko Falls To Hibbing In Section Finals

Wes Vork-NSO

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Nov 7

Wes Vork-NSO

GRAND RAPIDS – After turning in what was arguably their best performance of the season, a 3-0 win over Hermantown in the Section 7AA volleyball semi-finals, the Esko Eskomos went into the section finals with high hopes. Those hopes were dashed early when the Hibbing Bluejackets rolled to a 3-0 win Saturday in Grand Rapids.

The evening started out strong for the Eskomos, building a 6-2 lead in game one. Unfortunately for Esko, Hibbing’s Kate Lange then took over the game and, despite an Eskomo time out to re-group and try to break her momentum, she served 12 straight points. Just that quick the Eskomos found themselves down 15-6 and called another time out, but could not recover and dropped game one to the Bluejackets by a score of 25-11.

Although they were competitive throughout games two and three, Esko could not get on track, losing by scores of 25-16 and 25-19. The loss ended the Eskomos season with a record of 26-5 and while it was an extremely successful year, the team was quite upset by the loss. Esko head coach Desiree Deleon commented to NSO, “We had a good season, but these girls had higher goals. They are very disappointed right now.”

Esko graduates just one senior Kayla Handevidt. While those are big shoes to fill, returning the remaining roster should put the Eskomos in good position to make a deep run again next year.

Esko was led by Handevidt with10 kills, 5 digs, 4 blocks, and 2 ace serves. Stephanie Bandelin recorded 12 kills while Keely Deadrick had 27 set assists to go with 4 digs and 2 blocks. Alyson Glumac had 3 kills and 6 digs, Lydia Pelletier with 3 kills, 2 blocks and 2 digs and Janae Beaudot notched 3 digs.

Although Hibbing head coach Gail Nucech is making her seventh straight state tournament appearance, she was quick to point out the trip down south is all about the kids, especially the three seniors. “They will have these memories for a lifetime; this is a good bunch of kids.” She also pointed out it is a great learning experience for the younger players.

Hibbing’s Lange displayed her versatility recording 15 kills, 10 set assists, 8 digs, 8 ace serves and 1 block in the victory. Laicee Grahek also had a nice night for the Bluejackets in totaling 10 digs, 9 kills, 3 ace serves and a block. Courtney Wirtanen tallied 21 set assists and 6 digs while running the offense for the Bluejackets.

With the win, Hibbing is now 20-11 on the season. They will play Thursday, November 12 at the Excel Energy Center. Bracket matchups will be determined with the top four seeded teams
matched against the four unranked teams by a random draw.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com