Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Newspaper Above: The Hancock Bulldogs celebrate by claiming the Copper Spike trophy in the Houghton High School gym on Thursday. They defeated the Houghton Gremlins 3-0.

By Eddie O’Neill

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HOUGHTON – The Hancock Bulldogs volleyball team went digging for copper on Thursday and hit the mother lode 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). This was the second time the Hancock girls had won the coveted trophy in their nearly 15-year history.

“It was a perfect match for us” noted Hancock coach Brian Lamppa. “We played consistently and controlled what we could control. That was our game plan all year.”

In the first set, Hancock’s Reese Driscoll put her team ahead 4-1 with serve superiority. When he served for the second time, this difference increased to 16-10. Teammate Brooke Koskela finished the first quarter with a five-point serve and the Bulldogs won 25-16.

The second set was Houghton’s best as they took their first real lead of the night with scores of 5-2, 12-9. But the Bulldogs rallied and tied the score at 13 and 14. The Gremlins regained the lead at 19-16, while the Bulldogs held on and won by 25.

Lamppa noted that staying the course is something he’s been preaching to his girls all season.

“We kept our cool, served well and passed well.” he said.

We kept them out of the system. “They had a bihitter but they couldn’t go.”

The third set started with mutual conflicts. He was tied by more than 12 points five times in the opener. But after a score of 11-11, Hancock’s Lynn Heinonen put some distance between herself and her opponent with four serves and a score of 15-11. That push was just what the Bulldogs needed to go on to win this game 25-19.

This was the Bulldogs’ second win against cross-Channel rivals this season. Houghton coach Blaire Zenner said her girls played a little better than they did in early October, but it wasn’t enough against a strong team like Hancock.

“We played well at times but we were not consistent” he said. We had too many hitting and serving errors. “You can’t miss serves against a good passing team like Hancock.”

To say Coach Lamppa is proud of his team would be an understatement.

“This victory belongs to these girls” he was interested. “They work hard and have come a long way this year. “Ending the drought is a big win for them.”

UP NEXT

Next week is the last week of the regular season. The Gremlins will travel to West Iron County to face the Wykons on Tuesday. The Bulldogs will face the Calumet Copper Kings at home on Tuesday.