Yes, the UPSSA Division 1-3 second-ranked Flivvers posted their second sweep of the Mountaineers this season, this one by scores of 25-12, 25-22, 25-10. But the match lacked consistent flow on both sides of the net.

For the Flivvers (21-4), the issues started when senior middle hitter Kailey Sundquist was scratched from the lineup during warmups because of ankle discomfort.

“To find out right before we warmed up that Kailey wasn’t going to be able to go tonight kind of threw a kink into it,” Flivver coach Jaclynn Kreider said. “But there’s no excuse for us not to be able to adjust on the fly. I think for the most part in sets one and three we were fine. In set two, it felt slow on our part, a lot of reacting.”

Specifically, what Sundquist’s absence did was force Kreider to shift starting outside hitter Anna Bortolini into the middle and then use a combination of players on the outside, including sophomore Mylee Kreider, senior setter/outside hitter Alyssa Larson and junior middle Cassie Olson.

KINGSFORD senior Anna Bortolini (1) elevates for a block against Iron Mountain on Tuesday in Flivver Gym.

The teams split the first 10 points of the match before Kingsford senior Maddy Kreider sparked a run of seven straight points with a pair of aces.

From there, the Flivvers kept the Mountaineers (3-9) at a distance, keyed by kills from Olson and one each from the Kreider sisters.

Meanwhile for the Mountaineer net defenders, the task was to move quickly to build a block against Kingsford’s versatile and shifty hitters.

“We knew that (Kingsford) would come up and in over certain (smaller) rotations we have and they did just that,” IM coach Jeanne Newberry said. “Sometimes we have a tendency to be a step slow on positioning ourselves for the block.

“We did a much better job of following and knowing how far outside the antenna is because Kingsford plays strong outside the antenna. They’ve got great outside hitters and they also (move the ball) for a quick set in the middle so our blockers had to be ready to move.”

Kingsford junior Cassie Olson (12) watches her kill cruise past the Mountaineer defense on Monday at Kingsford High School.

The second set was far more competitive, and that tone was established from the get-go. IM senior Macy Linsenbigler smashed a kill off the Kingsford block and senior Juliana Tapio fired an ace to give the visitors a 3-1 edge.

With the set knotted at 11-all, Linsenbigler found the deep corner with a push, and after a Flivver miscue, the Mountaineers led 13-11.

From there, the two teams went back-and-forth until IM went on a mini-run that turned a 20-18 deficit into two-point lead.

IM senior Bella Person started the flurry with a block for a point and a kill for another. Then Tapio tipped the ball into an open space before Whitney Siren fired an ace to put the Mountaineers up 22-20 and provide the first suspense of the evening.

“I’m proud of these girls because they don’t quit,” Newberry said of her players. “Up against strong teams, they know they have to kind of sprawl themselves out a little better.”

On the other hand, Coach Kreider saw some recent worrying tendencies appear again. Namely that her players lost their edge and became reactive instead of proactive.

“What we talked about (last) Friday after watching some film is we have to be more disciplined in how we play and how we practice,” she began. “Well, that’s what we needed to do tonight. There’s no excuse. If we want to get better and we want to be able to beat a (Division 1-3 No. 1 ranked) Calumet in a couple of weeks and a (Division 4 No. 1) Forest Park in a couple of weeks and then go into districts in a month here, we have to get better every night.”

Despite their issues in the middle set, the Flivvers did come back to win on a kill by Mylee Kreider and three straight service points (two of them aces) from Jenna Viau.

The Flivvers took control of the third set when they broke free on a 17-3 run to finish the sweep.

One of the highlights for the Flivvers was the solid play of sophomore Mya Brunswick, who played heavy minutes in the match and was steady from both the back row and the front row.

“She’s a kid that’s super smart,” Coach Kreider said of Brunswick, who led the Kingsford in digs with 15 and aces with four. “Her mind’s always in it. She’s a very focused kid, so I trust her in front row and back row. We’ve been kind of mixing it up with her, part front and then in back row. And though she hasn’t had as many attempts, she has our highest percentage right now in serving efficiency.”

Maddie Kreider topped the Flivvers in kills with 13, while Bortolini added eight, Mylee Kreider recorded seven, Olson had six and Viau finished with four.

Larson paced Kingsford in assists with 22 to go with 19 from Maddy Kreider. Viau added 12 digs, while Larson and Ellery Nash and Maddy Kreider finished with seven each.

Junior setter Karly Trevillian chipped in with four digs and junior hitter Adelyn Normand recorded a kill as Coach Kreider used her entire roster during the match.

Unofficially, Linsenbigler paced the Mountaineers in kills with eight, while Person logged four, Tapio finished three and Lucy Baumgartner added one.

Siren connected on two aces to go with one each from Tapio and Siren, while Linsenbigler and Person had a block each.

Both teams are back in action tonight with home matches. The Mountaineers host Gladstone (4-10) and the Flivvers entertain Houghton (9-13-1).

Kingsford stats:

Kills – Ma. Kreider 13, Bortolini 8, My. Kreider 7, Olson 6, Viau 4, Larson 2, Normand 1

Digs – Brunswick 15, Viau 12, Larson 7, Ma, Kreider 7, Nash 7, Trevillian 4, Bortolini 2, My. Kreider 1

Assists – Larson 22, Ma. Kreider 19, Nash 4, Viau 1

Aces – Brunswick 4, Larson 3, Viau 3, Ma. Kreider 2, Bortolini 1

Nordics 3, Rockets 0

RAPID RIVER — The North Dickinson varsity volleyball team took talents on the road Tuesday for a Skyline Central Conference clash with Rapid River.

The Nordics put the pressure on the Rockets and dominated en route to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-19) sweep in Rapid River.

“Our middles, Aubrey Applekamp and Cami Sleeter, both had very strong nights at the net,” North Dickinson head coach Taylor Johnson said. “Raina Ledzian assisted our front row well and was precise at the net. There are some things to work on before we see North Central (tonight). Overall, it was a great team win.”

Raina Ledzian led the charge with 13 assists and eight digs. She also racked up six kills, four aces and a block.

The Nordics also received contributions from Hailee Siegler (1 kill, 1 assist, 2 digs, 1 ace), Jessica Harwath (3 kills, 2 assists, 7 digs, 3 aces), Aubrey Applekamp (6 kills, 2 digs, 1 block), Dakota Massie (1 kill, 2 digs, 4 aces), Maddi Miller (1 dig), Hope Schuiteman (1 kill, 2 digs), Nadia Carpenter (2 digs, 3 aces), Kiira Ledzian (6 digs, 2 aces), Cami Sleeter (5 kills, 2 digs, 1 block) and Mary Grace Holmes (3 digs, 1 ace).

North Dickinson hosts North Central tonight.

Lady Trojans 3, Jets 0

POWERS — The No. 1 ranked team in Division 4, according to the UPSSA, kept its hot streak alive on Tuesday as the Forest Park varsity volleyball team took its talents to Powers and swept North Central, 3-0 (25-7, 25-9, 25-11) in Skyline Central Conference action.

“We had a great conference win in North Central,” Lady Trojans head coach Bobbie Jo Anderson said. “The girls executed our game plan and maintained their intensity throughout the match. It was truly a team effort, with Ava (Fischer) leading the charge with eight kills. Vienna (Price) and Elsie (Williams) both contributed 12 assists. Vienna also served aggressively, contributing five of our teams’ 15 aces.”

Forest Park is now 26-2-1 on the season.

On top of leading the team in kills, Fischer contributed eight digs, a block and an ace.

The Lady Trojans also received contributions from Harper Anderson (3 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces), Evie Anderson (2 kills, 2 digs), Lily Curnow (6 digs), Tessa Bartoszek (4 kills, 2 assists, 1 dig), Williams (4 kills, 12 assists, 2 digs, 1 ace), Ellie Ayers (5 kills, 1 block, 1 dig), Dalaney Wagner (1 kill, 2 digs), Ella Gasperich (1 dig, 2 aces) and Price (12 assists, 4 digs, 5 aces).

Forest Park is back on the road on Tuesday as it heads to Eben Junction for a SCC clash with Superior Central. After that, the Lady Trojans have four regular season games left.

North Central heads to Felch tonight for an SCC contest with North Dickinson.

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Daily News sports editor Sean Chase contributed to this report.