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ESCANABA - Even an excellent effort couldn't keep the Escanaba Eskymo volleyball team's season alive here Wednesday Night as the Kingsford Flivvers swept their way to a 3-0 decision (25-20, 25-13, 25-19) in a Class B district semifinal.

The Flivvers will host Sault Ste. Marie for the district championship Friday while the season is over for the Eskymos. But Esky didn't go down without a fight, charging out to a 15-9 lead in the first game before Kingsford responded with 16 of the next 21 points.

"I'm really proud of the way the girls played," said Eskymos coach Bron Harmon. "The thing we stressed all season is improve with each match, let's keep getting better. I'm disappointed we couldn't get a win, but we played well."

Harmon felt the momentum would have been on Esky's side had the Eskymos taken that first game, but said you can't play the "what if" game.

"It's in the past, it's history," the coach said. "What ifs don't do you any good. Volleyball is such a game of momentum that whoever has it wins."

And once the Flivvers gained momentum, they were rarely challenged in the final two games, despite their slow start. Kingsford coach Steve Andrews wasn't surprised at the way the match began.

"Escanaba has a strong team," said Andrews. "One thing I think they've been lacking throughout the year is consistency, but they have some great athletes."

The Flivvers do too, including senior Jaime Roberts, who was a thorn in the side of the Eskymos with 10 kills.

"We wanted to get our middle hitters in the game so we really keyed on passing, which left more of our hitters open," said Roberts.

Roberts was quick to credit a teammate for her performance. "All of it is Jessie (senior Jessica Zeni)," Roberts said. "She places the ball perfectly, I have the easy part of just hitting the ball."

Andrews says once his team got rolling, they were difficult to stop. "We have plenty of firepower," the coach said. "When we put it all together, we're a fun team to watch."

Andrews is looking forward to playing Sault for the district title. The Blue Devils won the Escanaba Elks Invitational earlier this season.

"Sault has a couple great hitters, but the biggest thing is they don't make a lot of mistakes, so we need to be on our game," said Andrews.

As for the Eskymos, Harmon took a few moments to reflect on her first season at the helm.

"It's been a long season, it's been a disappointing season in the sense we didn't get very many wins," said Harmon. "But it's been a learning season for me, for them, for everyone involved with this program."

Harmon is looking forward to some time off. "I think we all need a little break," she said. "We'll start our winter conditioning in January so I won't be out of volleyball for long."

Kingsford - Roberts (10 kills, one ace); Zeni (three kills, two aces); Tadych (two aces, one kill); Andrews (two aces, one kill); O'Dette (four kills); Neumann (two kills); DeClark (one kill); Benzie (five kills).

Escanaba - Zimmerman (eight assists, six digs, three kills, two aces); Verbrigghe (six kills, one block); Packer (five digs); Matthys (four kills, four digs).