Iron Mountain’s Chloe Maycroft (19) hits the ball over the outstretched arms of Bark River-Harris senior Anna LeBoeuf (5) in the second set of an MHSAA Division 3 District semifinal on Wednesday at Bark River-Harris Schools. Iron Mountain’s Ellison Powell (13), Bella Rosenthal (17) and Annslee Runsat (8) and the Broncos’ Kassidy LaBay (18) look on. (Matt McCarthy/Daily News photo)

HARRIS — Consistency and determination set Iron Mountain apart as the visiting Mountaineers swept Bark River-Harris 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-22) in an MHSAA Division 3 district volleyball semifinal Wednesday night at Bark River-Harris Schools.

The Broncos were back on their home floor, coming off of a 3-0 defeat of Menominee on Monday, while the Mountaineers and veteran head coach Jeanne Newberry had a bye in the opening round.

“This is a strong team we played. They didn’t let many balls drop, we had to earn our win tonight,” Newberry said. “Our girls were hitting the ball tonight and hitting it well.”

The opening set began with the Mountaineers jumping out to a 9-4 lead, which they extended to 13-9. In the early stages overall consistency — especially serving and communication — began to show. Junior Chloe Maycroft was very strong at the net in disrupting the Broncos’ offensive attack.

There was also a long rally in the opening set, which was won by the Mountaineers on a tip kill by Maycroft. Iron Mountain extended its lead in the first set to 22-12, mainly off the serving of senior Annslee Runsat.

“We knew coming in that Iron Mountain can hit the ball well,” said Bark River head coach Jen Ives. “We usually hit the ball well, too, but unfortunately tonight we didn’t do that until the third set.”

A kill by Ellison Powell gave the Mountaineers the winning point of the first set.

“Our setters (Emma Ellis and Leah Winch) played great tonight. they do a great job of moving to the ball and getting it where it needs to be for our hitters,” Newberry said. “They have been hustling all year, but tonight our passing was great in both the front and back row.”

In the second set, once the Mountaineers gained a 16-14 advantage they never trailed. They took a 25-17 win on a tip kill by senior Bella Rosenthal.

The final set was by far the most competitive as the host Broncos came out with enthusiasm and were hitting the ball with power, jumping out to a 14-5 advantage. Cara Zawacki was serving with both power and accuracy in the early portion of the final set.

The Mountaineers went on a scoring run, nabbing eight of the next nine points. Two aces from Leah Winch were the key.

A well-placed tip kill by Runsat tied the score at 16-16, with an ace from Powell giving the Mountaineers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The large momentum swing had the Skyline Central Conference champion Broncos reeling, as they watched Iron Mountain plug away to clinch the match.

A powerful kill by Maycroft for the 24th point and a extremely well placed tip kill from Powell ended the contest.

“Kudos to Iron Mountain, they didn’t let many balls drop,” Ives said. “Our serve receive wasn’t great tonight, but I am proud of the girls for how they responded in the final set after being down 2-0.”

Iron Mountain will move on to the District 66 championship game Friday night, traveling to Manistique for the championship game at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The Mountaineers defeated the Emeralds earlier in the season in a Mid-Peninsula Conference match at Iron Mountain.

“Our passing has gotten so much better as of late, and this is the key time of the season for something like passing to be at its best,” said Newberry.

IM Stats

Leah Winch: 2 aces, 4 digs, 100% serving, 13 assists

Annslee Runsat: 1 block, 8 digs, 12 kills

Ellison Powell: 1 ace, 7 digs, 10 kills

Chloe Maycroft: 2 aces, 1 block, 2 digs, 9 kills

Bella Rosenthal: 3 aces, 1 block, 2 digs 7 kills

Georjee Swartout: 1 dig

Emma Ellis: 12 assists, 3 aces, 100% serving, 2 digs

BR-H Stats

Carley Varoni: 5 kills, 1 ace, 8 digs, 1 block

Alaska Peterson: 3 kills, 7 digs

Tressa Ives: 4 kills, 1 ace, 12 digs

Cara Zawacki: 3 kills, 5 digs

Aspen Fredrick: 2 kills, 3 digs

Kay-Lee Red Bear: 2 kills, 1 block, 5 digs

Graci Varoni: 5 digs

Ava Arndt: 5 digs