(Todd Rose/Escanaba Daily Pres photo) Kingsford’s Talia Wallis (4) tips the ball over the net as Mari Bink (5) of Escanaba goes for the block Tuesday night in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — Kingsford coach Jaclynn Kreider was jumping for joy for a few moments after a Great Northern Conference volleyball match here Tuesday night.

Escanaba committed a passing error, enabling the Flivvers to escape with a hard-fought 3-2 (23-25, 25-10, 25-16, 21-25, 19-17) victory.

The Eskymos forced four match points with the final one coming after a kill by junior Katelyn Stalboerger which tied the finale at 17.

“That was so much fun,” Kreider said. “It’s always a challenge when come over to play Escanaba. We put a lot of pressure on the girls (in practice) to get them used to these kinds of situations. We started out slow in the fifth set. We took a time-out and told the girls to calm down and have fun.”

The Eskymos took an 8-3 lead on back-to-back hitting errors by the Flivvers in the fifth set.

Esky then committed a series of miscues and a block attempt by junior Mari Bink went out of bounds, giving the Flivvers a 9-8 lead.

The last set tied nine times before Kingsford went ahead to stay on a lift violation.

“That was quite a match,” said Esky coach Adam Lambert. “Both teams were motivated. We haven’t been hit at like that for a long time.”

Esky took a 20-15 lead in the fourth set on a kill by junior Bailey Barron, forcing the Flivvers to use a time-out.

The Eskymos then committed a service error and two hitting errors, trimming their lead to 20-18 and forcing them to take a time-out.

A service ace by Danika Varda brought Kingsford within 20-19.

Esky went up 22-19 on a hitting error before the Fiivvers again came within a point.

Bink and Stalboerger recorded kills, and Bink added a block to force the fifth set.

A five-point service run by Madelynn Kreider helped the Flivvers gain the early advantage in the opener. Kingsford then surged to a 19-10 lead on a kill by Grace Roberts.

Following a sideout, Stalboerger served for seven straight points, including an ace, to bring them within 19-18. Kingsford took a 23-21 lead on an Esky service error, then committed a hitting error and a lift and two-hit violation and trailed 24-23.

Bink then clinched the opener with a cross-court kill.

“We had five missed serves and struggled with serve receives in set one,” said coach Kreider. “You can’t give extra points to a team like Escanaba.”

Kingsford trailed 5-2 in the second set before getting a sideout on a kill by Laura Bracket.

Allie LaVarnway then served for 13 consecutive points, helping the Flivvers gain an insurmountable 16-5 advantage.

The third set was tied at 15 before a defensive miscue foiled the Eskymos.

Madelynn Kreider followed with an ace and back-to-back kills by Terrian gave Kingsford a 20-15 cushion.

A kill by junior McKayla Mott gave Esky a sideout before the Flivvers secured that set on a kill by Elaina Bortolini.

Talia Wallis and Terrian provided the Flivvers with eight kills each. Roberts and Madelynn Kreider added seven apiece. Kreider also had 19 assists and five aces. LaVarnway collected 14 assists, and Terrian also had two blocks.

The JV and freshmen matches also went the full three sets, with the Esky JVs and Kingsford freshman winning. Kingsford hosts Marquette Thursday.

Kingsford — Kreider (five aces, seven kills, 19 assists); Roberts (three aces, seven kills); LaVarnway (three aces, one kill, 14 assists); Varda (two aces); Terrian (eight kills, two aces); Wallis (eight kills); Bortolini (five kills); Bracket (one kill); Andrews (17 digs).

Escanaba — Stalboerger (two aces, 16 kills); Bink (one ace, nine kills, 12 assists); Rexford (one ace); Barron (11 kills, one assist); LaMarche (four kills); Mott (three kills); Whitson (two kills, one assist); Liss (one kill, 13 assists).