Marquette County volleyball teams do well with West PAC, Mid-Peninsula Conference honors

Ispheming's Mya Hemmer, top right, towers over Munising's Hayden Bayer as she gets a clean solo block on Bayer's kill attempt in the second set of an MHSAA Division 4 district tournament championship volleyball match at Munising on Nov. 4. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)
MARQUETTE — Five area schools did quite well when the Mid-Peninsula Conference and West PAC announced their high school volleyball awards recently.
Negaunee, Ishpeming, Westwood and Gwinn from Marquette County are members of both conferences, as is Iron Mountain, while Manistique is a member of the M-PC.
The West PAC, which stands for the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference, also includes teams from the Copper Country along with West Iron County, while the M-PC also has Gladstone as a member.
Negaunee senior libero Marisa Hird was named Defensive Specialist of the Year in the West PAC, while in the M-PC, Manistique senior setter Emma Jones earned Player of the Year and the Emeralds’ Amy Nixon was named Coach of the Year.
Negaunee senior outside hitter Ashley Bell was the lone player to earn First Team honors in both conferences as the West PAC top team was dominated by players from powerful schools Calumet, Houghton and Hancock.

Negaunee’s Ashley Bell, center, looks over to the Miners’ bench after she called a timeout in the second set with teammates Janelle Rautiola, left, and Marisa Hird also looking during the MHSAA Division 2 district tournament championship match played against Kingsford at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Nov. 3. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)
Also reaching the M-PC First Team was Ishpeming sophomore middle blocker Mya Hemmer, Westwood senior outside hitter Megan Marta and a trio from Manistique — senior middle blocker Ella Schuetter, senior middle blocker Danielle Lund and junior liberto Kamry Flodin.
Marta and Hemmer were named to the West PAC Second Team, along with Hematites senior middle hitter Addison Morton and Miners senior setter Rylee Hanner.
And Morton and Hanner also appear on the M-PC Second Team and were joined by Ishpeming senior setter Payton Manninen and Manistique junior outside hitter Leah Goudreau.
While the West PAC had a 10-member First Team and 11-member Second Team, the M-PC had just six on each of those teams, but also included an All-Defensive Team along with an Honorable Mention list.
Negaunee’s Hird, Ishpeming’s Hemmer and Manistique’s Flodin were part of the All-Defensive Team as they were joined by Westwood senior libero Marjorie Hair, Ishpeming junior libero Sonja Kiviniemi and Manistique sophomore defensive specialist Maya Carlson.

Negaunee’s Marisa Hird digs a shot in the second set during the MHSAA Division 2 district tournament championship match played against Kingsford at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Nov. 3. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)
Gwinn’s two representatives were on Honorable Mention with senior setter Addyson Sayen and senior defensive specialist Grace Woods. Also going HM was Negaunee junior middle blocker Maddie Beaudry and Manistique junior right-side hitter Clara Cunningham.
Joining Hird in earning a West PAC special award were two from Calumet — Copper Kings senior setter Laina Kariniemi as Player of the Year and Kate Bonacorsi as Coach of the Year.
Here are other honorees from each league, listed with year, position and school:
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WEST PAC
First Team — Allie Bjorn, jr., middle hitter, Calumet; Brielle Kero, sr., middle hitter, Hancock; Brooke Koskela, jr., outside hitter, Hancock; Brynn Arko, sr., right-side hitter, Houghton; Caitlyn Strom, sr., middle hitter, Calumet; Clea Ollanketo, sr., libero, Houghton; Danica Shamion, sr., middle hitter, West Iron County; Jackie Kiilunen, jr., outside hitter, Calumet; Laney Johnson, jr., setter, Houghton
Second Team — Danica Ryynanen, sr., middle hitter, Houghton; Ella Storm, sr., outside hitter, Hancock; Haiden Gill, sr., outside hitter, WIC; Lana Aho, sr., middle hitter, Hancock; Lily De Sousa, soph., setter, WIC; Maddie Torola, jr., right-side hitter, Calumet; Sophia Neves, sr., middle hitter, Houghton
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MID-PENINSULA
- Ispheming’s Mya Hemmer, top right, towers over Munising’s Hayden Bayer as she gets a clean solo block on Bayer’s kill attempt in the second set of an MHSAA Division 4 district tournament championship volleyball match at Munising on Nov. 4. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)
- Negaunee’s Ashley Bell, center, looks over to the Miners’ bench after she called a timeout in the second set with teammates Janelle Rautiola, left, and Marisa Hird also looking during the MHSAA Division 2 district tournament championship match played against Kingsford at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Nov. 3. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)
- Negaunee’s Marisa Hird digs a shot in the second set during the MHSAA Division 2 district tournament championship match played against Kingsford at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Nov. 3. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)
Second Team — Emily Copley, sr., middle blocker, Iron Mountain; Lillie Johnson, soph., middle blocker, Gladstone
All-Defensive Team — Gigi Sampoll-Torres, jr., libero, IM
Honorable Mention — Izzy Lewis, sr., setter-defensive specialist, IM; Macy Linsenbigler, jr., middle block-right-side hitter, IM
Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.