Trending
IRONWOOD -- The area roster of top Upper Peninsula teams was sliced in half this week with the final U.P. high school volleyball polls that are conducted by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Two teams that have been riding along at No. 3 in their respective Divisions 1-3 and Division 4 rankings held fast there, but it was the teams just outside the top five who were receiving votes that were eliminated this time around.
Negaunee slipped a half-spot from No. 3 alone to sharing that spot with Houghton this week in D 1-3. The Miners are 20-13-1 and last week defeated Gladstone in three sets.
In addition, Negaunee opened MHSAA Division 2 district tournament play with another three-set win over the same Braves on Monday, with a district semifinal matchup vs. Kingsford today.
Baraga (26-1) also maintained its No. 3 position in Division 4, winning both its matches last week in three sets over L'Anse and Ewen-Trout Creek.
In Division 4 district play on Monday, the Vikings again defeated L'Anse, though this time in four sets, with a date with Lake Linden-Hubbell tonight.
Gwinn (16-11-3) was receiving votes last week, but not this week, despite a four-set victory over Ishpeming a week ago. The Modeltowners were opening Division 3 district play vs. Westwood on Monday night.
In Division 4, Newberry (19-8-4) is in the same boat, getting votes a week ago but no longer. The Indians didn't play last week, and had a Division 4 district date at home vs. Pickford on Tuesday evening.
The other positions in both polls remained unchanged other than the Gremlins pulling even with Negaunee in Divisions 1-3.
Kingsford (22-3) is still a unanimous No. 1 in D 1-3 after not playing last week, while No. 2 Calumet (20-12-1) lost its only match last week to Division 4 top-ranked Hancock in five sets.
Houghton (12-8) at the tie for No. 3 downed West Iron County in four sets last week, while No. 5 Jeffers (12-7) also zipped past WIC last week in three sets.
Unanimous No. 1 Hancock (28-2-1) in D-4 had just its one match last week, the exciting victory over Calumet, while No. 2 Forest Park (34-4-1) also played once, defeating Bark River-Harris in three sets.
No. 4 LL-H (16-6) twice won in four sets last week over Ironwood and Dollar Bay, while No. 5 Cedarville-DeTour (25-4-5) was off last week.
Story contents based on an email received from the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.