Jeffers Jets’ Hanna Larson prepares to serve against Baraga on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in Painesdale, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)
PAINESDALE — It was a back-and-forth battle on the Jeffers High School volleyball court on Tuesday as the hometown Jets took on the visiting Baraga Vikings.
In the end, the Jets earned a hard-fought 3-1 win with scores of 25-18, 19-25, 25-23 and 25-11.
Both coaches agreed that this was good volleyball game from the first serve as the teams were very much evenly matched.
“That was fun,” said Baraga head coach Corey Pietila. “Our hitting was phenomenal. There was an energy on the court, and the movement of the ball was efficient.”
On the other side of the net, Jeffers’ head coach Rachael Sondgerath like the aggressive player her girls demonstrated at the net.
“We capitalize on our front row,” she said. “We won points tonight as opposed to having our opponents give or lose points.”
The Jets had 10 aces on the night. Five of those came from junior Sara Johnson. She also led the night with seven kills.
In the first set the Jets (2-0) and the Vikings (0-2) battled it out to a 12-12 knot before the Jets moved it to a 18-15 lead. The Jets had the advantage on the service line with Raena Kangas and Hanna Larson both stringing together runs of three to push Jeffers to a 21 -18 lead. The Jets Carli Wiitala then finished the set with a service run of four and a 25-18 win.
“Our defensive coverage could have done better I had some girls covering too much ground and others not covering enough,” said Pietila after the first set “However, I thought we played well in sets one to through three.”
The Vikings won the second set 19-25. After some great rallies and a 9-9 tie, Baraga had momentum on their side with Mia Coronado on the line. She posted a service run on four to put the Vikings up 19-15. Kaci Coronado then finished the Jets off at 25.
“Kylie Michaelson did phenomenal,” Pietila said. “She is my outside hitter. Makenna Hendrickson and Shayla Elmblad also played well. Those two can cover some ground as they know each other’s move.”
While Pietila thought the first through third sets were Baraga’s best, Sondgrath thought the fourth was where her Jets shined.
“I liked our last set,” Sondgrath said. “We communicated well, and we pushed the ball to our setter and put the ball on the floor with our big swings. We also stormed the net on blocking – not allowing easy balls over the net.”
The Jets will take their undefeated season on the road to Hancock on Thursday as they face the Bulldogs in a 6:45 match up.
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