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Earning her honors: Mid-Peninsula Conference Player of the Year Ally Jacobson leads Negaunee Miners to win in final volleyball match of regular season

Negaunee’s Allyson Jacobson, center, bumps the ball with teammate Caylee Dempsey, left, in action during a Mid-Peninsula Conference match against Gladstone on Tuesday evening at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee. (Journal photo by Corey Kelly)

NEGAUNEE — Named Mid-Peninsula Conference Player of the Year a day earlier, Ally Jacobson followed that up by recording 10 kills and three blocks to lead Negaunee to a three-set sweep of Gladstone in a high school volleyball match at the Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

The Miners won 25-19, 25-20 and 25-19 in the last match for each team before the MHSAA district playoffs begin next week. Gladstone will host a match in a Class B nontraditional-format tournament on Monday night, while Negaunee will host an entire Class C district starting Tuesday that also includes Gwinn, Westwood and Ishpeming.

Miners head coach Sarah MacDonald said Tuesday’s match was a good tune-up.

“I told the girls we did a lot of things right that we can carry over into districts and it was just good momentum to go into the tournament with,” she said. “I’m hoping for a lot of energy, excitement, hustle, a lot of things that I saw tonight, I’m hoping those carry over.”

Braves head coach Mariah Yonker said she was disappointed with the result, but credited Negaunee’s play and is focused on districts now.

“This definitely wasn’t how we wanted to end our conference games but I think the girls are well aware that we could have played a lot better,” she said. “I’m not worried about this match, because Negaunee is a great team. I’m a little upset about the outcome but you can’t base a team off of a win or a loss. It’s all about districts right now.”

Jacobson said the match was special because of senior night and this being her last regular-season match at Lakeview Gym.

“It was a great feeling, my team played great and I had amazing support,” she said. “It was so much fun playing with them this year. We had a lot of ups and downs because of sickness and injuries, but we fought through it and it’s been a good end to the year.”

Shiroda said the senior night victory was a bittersweet moment for her and her senior teammates.

“It was kind of happy, kind of sad. I was just happy we were able to finish with a win,” she said.

Gladstone opened the night with the lead after a kill by Kaitlyn Hardwick. Negaunee answered with the next two points before Gladstone followed up with three more. But the Miners went on a six-point run to take a 9-6 lead and never looked back. Negaunee won set point on a Gladstone service error.

In Set 2, the Braves scored the first two points before the Miners stormed back to take an 11-6 lead. Gladstone didn’t give up, though, fighting back into the set and tying it on a service ace by Lexi Winling, then taking the lead on a kill by Chasey Williams.

With the set tied 17-17, the Miners won the next three points and four of the last seven, clinching the set on a service error again.

The third set was closely contested as well. The Miners scored three straight points and tied it 11-11 on a kill by Ielee Shiroda. The Braves responded with two in a row, but Negaunee tacked on a 6-0 run to pull out to a 17-13 advantage.

After Gladstone stopped that run, the Miners went on another run, this time of five points, to take an overwhelming 22-14 lead. Negaunee won the set and finished the match on an attack error.

Shiroda added six kills and two aces while JV call-up Larissa Anderson recorded 13 assists and an ace to lead the Miners along with Jacobson.

The Braves were led by Hardwick with five kills and three aces. Amber Lenards added six kills while Winling had 16 assists and three aces.

Negaunee won the JV contest, 25-20, 25-18.

Email Ryan Spitza at sports@miningjournal.net.

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