Esko volleyball to face Hibbing for section title

Esko powered its way into the Section 7AA championship game on Tuesday night with a dominating performance against Virginia. The Eskomos downed Virginia 25-18, 25-18, 22-25 and 25-18 to gain the title match with Hibbing on Saturday at Denfeld High School in Duluth.

The Bluejackets qualified for the championship by eliminating Cloquet 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Jamie Rust, who is coming off an ankle injury, helped lead the Eskomos with a 16-kill, 12-dig, eight-block and four-ace serve performance. Keely Deadrick chipped in with 38 set assists, 11 digs and she was 18-for-18 serving. Kayla Handevidt supplied more power for Esko with an awesome hitting display that included 13 kills and eight blocks, Roz Chromy had 11 digs and four ace serves, Farrah Wirtz pounded out 10 kills and 17 digs, and it was Kayla Deadrick recording 10 digs.

Brittany Oakman led the Blue Devils with 13 kills and Jessa Yousa had 12 kills.

• On Friday night, the Eskomos destroyed Hinckley-Finlayson 25-11, 25-9 and 25-16 in the quarterfinals held in Hermantown.

“It was a good win for us,” said Esko coach Desiree Deleon. “We hoped it would continue into Tuesday night’s game against Virginia.”

Keely Deadrick finished with 28 set assists in the win, Rust had 15 kills and eight digs, and Handevidt finished with 10 kills for Esko.

“It is really good to have [Rust] back and doing so well,” explained Deleon. “During her absence all the girls stepped up and improved, so adding her to the mix only helps us.”