Blue Devil volleyball wins Escanaba Invitational, Pickford falls in four
ESCANABA – The Sault High volleyball team took home some first-place hardware on Saturday, winning the Escanaba Invitational with wins over Houghton (25-21, 25-11) and Escanaba (25-21, 18-25, 15-8) in pool play.
In the semifinals, the Blue Devils took down Stephenson (25-23, 25-11) and then win a rematch with the Eskymos in the final (25-15, 25-20)
Laura Innerebner led the Blue Sault on the day with 31 kills and eight blocks, while Kenzie Bell finished with 29 kills. Claire Erickson had 27 kills and five blocks. Hannah Mauer also had double figure kills with 13. Kenedy Hagan led the team in assists with 95, while Izzy DeWildt led in digs with 30. Lucy Huskey had 26 digs, and Chelsea McLeod had 23.
Earlier in the week, the Devils took part in a tri-meet in Cheboygan to face the Chiefs and the Cardinals of Onaway. The Devils dropped both sets against the Chiefs (18-25, and 22-25), before bouncing back and sweeping the Cards (25-15, 25-20).
Bell had 15 kills on the night for the Sault, while Erickson had 11. DeWildt led the way in digs with 13, while McLeod and Hagan both had 11. Hagan also had 37 assists on the night.
The Sault Jvs won both matches at the tri-meet, beating Cheboygan (25-20, 20-25, 15-7), and Onaway (25-10, 25-13).
Sam Grossett had 10 aces and nine assists for the Blue Devils, while Ava Mayer had seven kills and 14 digs. Alyssa Wojnaroski had 16 digs for the Sault, while Addison Talsma finished with 29 assists. Annabelle Fazzari added six kills in the wins.
The Sault freshmen took part in the Gaylord Freshman Invitational over the weekend and reached the semifinals before being eliminated by the Titans of Traverse City West 20-25 and 20-25.
In pool play, the Devils knocked off Marquette and Clare, while dropping a match to Gaylord.
Anika Siesel led the Blue Devils with 13 service aces, 26 assists and seven kills. Claire Chambers had 13 aces and 27 digs. Ella Rutledge had 48 digs, and Olivia Eddleman led the team in kills with nine.
Pickford drops in four sets
PICKFORD — The Pickford Panthers lost two matches this week, falling to the Cedarville-DeTour Islanders in four games (28-30, 25-18, 21-25, and 10-25).
Isa Franiklin led the Panthers with 10 kills and 10 aces, while Madison Thurmes had nine kills and 13 assists. Laura Bush added eight assists, while Chloe Cottle had eight digs.
In their other match, the Panthers fell to the St. Ignace Saints in three games (12-25, 14-25, and 15-25).
Franklin had eight kills and six digs, while Thurmes finished with nine assists and eight digs. Anna Blenkhorn had four kills and nine digs.
Bulldogs sweep Bays
RUDYARD — The Rudyard Bulldogs won in straight sets over the Brimley Bays earlier this week.
Laura Grenfell led the Bulldogs with seven kills, while Eve Cheney had six. Cheney also had six digs for the 'Dogs, while Megan Postma had nine. Summer Smith led the team in assists with 11.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Blue Devil volleyball wins Escanaba Invitational, Pickford falls in four
