MARQUETTE — Gwinn blew a two-set lead, but in the end, prevailed in a tight fifth set to win a high school volleyball match at Marquette on Tuesday evening.

The Modeltowners’ winning score was 30-28, 25-23, 12-25, 24-26, 15-13, as the MHSAA website, www.mhsaa.com, now lists their record at an even 8-8-1. The Sentinels slipped to 4-8 with the loss.

“It was a night where we struggled with team cohesion and consistency,” Marquette head coach Melissa Butler said in an email detailing the result. “While we had some intense moments and showed resilience, we couldn’t sustain momentum when it mattered most.

“Gwinn ultimately came away with the 3-2 win. Moving forward, we need to return to the basics and stay focused on our team’s goals to achieve success.”

Marquette, which also defeated Escanaba in five sets last Thursday, remains at home to host Calumet at 6 p.m. today, while Gwinn is off until 7 p.m. Tuesday, when the Modeltowners go to Hancock.

The Copper Kings (11-9-1) that MSHS plays today are ranked No. 3 in this week’s Upper Peninsula high school poll conducted by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

But it’s undefeated Kingsford at 12-0 that remains a unanimous No. 1 in the Division 1-3 rankings with all three first-place votes and a perfect 15 voting points.

Houghton (7-2) is second with 10 points, with Calumet at nine points, Negaunee (12-4-2) a close fourth with eight and Jeffers (7-5) with two.

The only movement in D 1-3 was the Miners and Copper Kings flip-flopping spots.

In addition, Manistique (7-4-2) received one vote in D 1-3.

In Division 4, Ishpeming (11-2-1) remained third and Munising (11-5-1) fifth as there was no change in this week’s rankings.

Forest Park, near perfect at 21-1, stayed No. 1 unanimously with all three first-place votes and 15 voting points.

Hancock (14-2-2) is second with 12, Ishpeming third with eight, Lake Linden-Hubbell (19-3) fourth with seven and Munising fifth with two.

One other team earned votes, Ewen-Trout Creek (8-1) had one.

Story contents based on emails received from MSHS head coach Melissa Butler and the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.