During pregame introductions, Iron Mountain athletic director Donny Bianco had the crowd observe a moment of silence for recent the passing of Tony Newberry — husband of long-time Iron Mountain head coach Jeanne Newberry.

“Both communities were so good to me tonight, I feel so blessed while feeling like the elephant in a crowded room,” Newberry said. “The girls on my team and the (assistant) coaches are my family — my volleyball family. I not only wanted to be here for them, I need to be, I am their coach.”

Both schools’ student sections were dressed in a theme and were exceptionally loud. It made communication for the players on the floor a challenge. However, the effort and enthusiasm displayed by the student sections seeped out on the floor to the athletes, who played a highly competitive match.

The Flivvers got off to a fast start in the opening set with strong serving. “We were able to set the tone for that set and it carried over into the second set, with our strong serving,” said Kingsford head coach Jaclyn Kreider.

Kingsford libero Emma Andrews (9) leaps to serve the ball in the second set of a non-conference volleyball match Tuesday night at the Mountaineer Gymnasium.

Iron Mountain fought back and brought the score to within a few points at various times in the opening set, but the Flivvers prevailed.

“We got off to a slow start in the first set, and we’re missing a player tonight, but the girls are resilient, they regrouped,” Newberry said.

In the second set, the serving of Kingsford libero Emma Andrews and teammate Abby Terrian gave the Mountaineers a difficult time.

“We also had strong front row play from Grace Roberts in the second set, controlling the ball. It’s been a different girl stepping up at different times, doing different things to help us win in each match all season,” Kreider said.

The final set of the match was very competitive, with two very long rallies that pleased the crowd. Behind 18-13, the Mountaineers came back to tie the game behind strong communication and court awareness, to go along with a six-point serving run from senior Georjee Swartout.

“I often wonder if people appreciate the hard work and effort that both teams give in a long rally, to earn one single point at the end of it,” Newberry said. “We also had some big blocks at key times of the match tonight.”

Once the Mountaineers took a 19-18 lead, Kingsford started to retake control of the set, and went to complete the sweep taking set No. 3, 25-20.

“Iron Mountain crept back in the third set and even took the lead,” Kreider said. “We let them back in the game by the errors we were committing, and they took advantage of it at the right time. But tonight was fun, the crowd was so loud. It’s always fun to play Iron Mountain.”

Newberry noted the Mountaineers tried a different offensive and defensive attack. “We had girls learning on the fly because we only practiced the formation last night,” she said. “I am very proud of their effort tonight. It was loud and hard to communicate for both teams.”

The Mountaineers return to action on Thursday as they travel to Mid-Peninsula Conference foe Gladstone. They travel to Houghton for a West PAC Conference match on Tuesday.

Kingsford will return to action on Monday when they host Great Northern Conference foe Menominee.

Kingsford won both the jayvee and freshmen matches in straight sets, 2-0.

IM Stats

Leah Winch: 4 digs, 6 assists

Annslee Runsat: 3 aces, 2 block, 11 digs, 8 kills

Ellison Powell: 1 block, 7 digs, 10 kills, 1 assist

Bella Rosenthal: 1 ace, 2 blocks, 11 digs, 4 kills

Emma Ellis: 9 digs, 8 assists

Georjee Swartout: 1 ace, 8 digs

Kingsford Stats

Talia Wallis: 3 aces, 6 digs, 3 kills

Elaina Bortolini: 1 dig, 4 kills

Laura Bracket: 3 kills

Allie LaVarnway: 2 digs, 11 assists

Emma Andrews: 1 ace, 7 digs

Abby Terrian: 1 ace, 2 digs, 5 kills

Grace Roberts: 2 aces, 5 digs, 4 kills

Madelynn Kreider: 12 assists, 2 aces, 6 digs, 4 kills

Zoie Geronimi: 1 kill