Hancock Riding Impressive Streak as Championship Pursuit Begins Second Week
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
November 10, 2026
BARAGA — Hancock carried a two-month winning streak into last week’s Division 4 District Tournament at Baraga and defeated the host Vikings on Thursday to overcome a major obstacle as they work to extend that undefeated run deep into November.
The Bulldogs (30-2-1) – who also won the Copper Mountain Conference title this fall – are 28-2 after the 25-11, 25-16, 25-20 sweep of Baraga and heading into tonight’s Regional Semifinal against host Ishpeming (18-8-2).
Baraga was an honorable mention in the final coaches Division 4 poll heading into the postseason, and its only losses this season were to Hancock. The Bulldogs entered the MHSAA Tournament ranked No. 5 and secured the league title by defeating Division 3 honorable mention Calumet in five sets Oct. 27. They also beat the Copper Kings 3-2 on their floor Sept. 15.
“That was a big win,” Hancock junior Romey Koskela said. “I think that was the first time in many years we won up there. It’s a great environment to be in. We were pretty excited after that. I think that set the tone for us. They’re a young team, but they’re tough to beat up there. They also gave us a tough match on our floor. Winning that match was big momentum for us going into the District.”
A victory tonight would enable the Bulldogs to return to Ishpeming for the Regional Final on Thursday to face the winner of No. 9 Crystal Falls Forest Park and Ewen-Trout Creek. Hancock defeated Forest Park in their regular-season meeting Sept. 12, after falling to the Trojans in a Regional Semifinal last fall. The Bulldogs defeated Forest Park in a 2024 Regional Final on the way to making the Division 4 Semifinals in Battle Creek.
“Forest Park would be a tough match,” Hancock senior Briell L’Esperance said. “Ishpeming also has a good team. You can’t underestimate anyone. You’ve got to give it your all in every match. I’m proud of the girls on our team. We work hard every day.”
Baraga challenged Hancock in the third set of Thursday’s District Final. The Vikings led 20-19 before a block by Koskela tied the score and gave the Bulldogs a side-out.
Hancock then scored the last five points, securing the decision on a kill by Koskela.
The Bulldogs run a 6-2 offense, which both L’Esperance and Hancock coach Brian Lamppa noted has been a great fit for their lineup.
Junior outside hitter Azura Aho, Koskela and junior libero Chloe Bastian recently were named to the WestPAC all-conference first team, while junior right-side hitter Vaeda Brooks and junior setter Tatum Sporalski made the second team and senior middle Bria Koski earned special mention. Lamppa was named league Coach of the Year.
“Romey is definitely leading us at the net and with her serving,” Lamppa said. “We’ve been working on our blocking. We’re being aggressive at the net.”
The Regional champion advances to the Quarterfinal on Nov. 17 at Manistique.
The two losses this season came against Division 2 Kingsford, which is coming off a District title as well.
“Our setters were getting some great passes to us (against Baraga),” L’Esperance said. “It all starts with them. It’s hard to defend against Azura Aho. If we can play like that, we’ll go far.
“We played a lot of bigger schools which I think will help us if we go downstate, although Forest Park has been a great team for many years. That would be a good match if we win Tuesday.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
(Photo courtesy of the Hancock athletic booster club.)
Bronson Finds Class C Championship Mix
November 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Alexa Ratkowski wears jersey number 1, and so she was first through the hug line as Bronson accepted its Class C championship medals Saturday at Kellogg Arena.
She had a smile across her face until she hugged coach Jean LaClair and the first tears fell. Every teammate following her seemed to drop a few more.
Bronson often wasn’t the tallest or most physically intimidating team on the volleyball court this season, and especially the last few weeks. The Vikings even had to make up for graduating an all-state hitter this spring.
But they had other ingredients that make an MHSAA champion – most notably chemistry to go with a skillful mix of seniors through freshmen and an all-state setter like Ratkowski, who had 34 assists plus six kills in leading Bronson to a 3-0 sweep of reigning champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central – 25-22, 25-21, 26-24 – for its first title since 2009.
“Working together and just building with one another; all summer this is what we’d look forward to,” said Ratkowski, who ended this season with the third-most assists in MHSAA rally scoring history. “Playing throughout the season, we knew we were number one. But rankings didn’t mean it. It all came down to the state title and how we performed, and I think we performed to our ability.”
The Vikings did indeed hold the top ranking in Class C for the final two months of the season, finished 57-10-3 and added a league title after not winning their conference or making it out of their District a year ago for the first time since the winter 2006-07 season.
It was about a month into this fall that LaClair – who has coached at three schools over 22 seasons and went over 1,000 career wins in October – saw the makings of a championship contender.
“Early on in the season I think they were frustrated. But we have some freshmen, sophomores playing key roles, and it really took them some time to get into the mold of what varsity volleyball is all about,” LaClair said. “They get along so well. In girls sports, team chemistry is more important than anything else.
"The other thing, I think, is we have a lot of depth. I had some kids who came off the bench today to do some great things for us. That ability to go through 10 or 12 deep really helps in a big match like this.”
It definitely helped during Saturday’s first set as Bronson got down by as many as nine points. Senior outside hitter Kirin Cekander – who LaClair calls the team’s “energizer bunny” – admittedly got off to a rough start. But some switches helped the Vikings pull together a 21-9 swing to win the first set – with Cekander getting kills for two of the final four points.
“The first game just set the stage in all of us,” Ratkowski said. “We were down by eight, and we said this is not it. We’re not letting down.”
Bronson trailed again by two points midway through the second set, but broke away for the final four points, including a pair of kills by sophomore outside hitter Kiana Mayer.
The teams were tied 24-24 in the third set before junior Jill Pyles and then Cekander drove the final points home.
“All the sets were close. It was different for us; we had leads. Maybe that was the difference – we had too many leads in each set,” SMCC coach Karen O’Brien said. “We just couldn’t finish them. We just couldn’t put them away. A couple points here, a couple points there really was the difference.”
Cekander finished with 11 kills and Pyles had nine, but Mayer added eight and junior Allison Sikorski added seven. Cekander also had a team-high 15 digs.
“We have a lot of people who can come off the bench and play like they’ve been playing the whole game,” Cekander said. “We have a lot of people practicing in different places, so we have four outside hitters and a lot of people who can hit back and a lot of middles. We have a really good, flexible team.”
Senior Skylar Iott led three Kestrels in double-figure kills with 15, while seniors Regan Hodgson and Nicole Pollzzie both added 10. Senior Abby Thompson had 15 digs.
St. Mary (37-9-1) played in its eighth MHSAA Final but first with former assistant and Division I college head coach O’Brien running the program. She inherited a strong group of seniors she and retired coach Diane Tuller nurtured last season who then came up big this fall.
“After last year, losing as many seniors that contributed a lot, our seniors stepped up this year,” O’Brien said. “Skylar, Nicole, Regan, Abby and then Rose (Kemmerling) – Rose was our manager last year. You go from manager to being setter in the state finals. I think that just says a lot about her character.”
PHOTO: (Top) Bronson’s Kirin Cekander tries to drive the ball through the block of Merina Poupard (15) and Nicole Pollzzie. (Middle) SMCC’s Skylar Iott goes for a kill with Bronson’s Kiana Mayer (10) and Jill Pyles blocking.