Warriors edge rival Moose in NLC volleyball

PALMER — Midway through Wasilla’s second set against Palmer, Warriors senior middle blocker Leya DePriest smacked a bullet over the net. The ball was picked up and returned by the steady Moose defense. After the Palmer dig, DePriest blocked the Palmer attack. Once again the Moose defense picked up the loose ball. But finally, with her third touch during the long volley, DePriest was able to dump the ball into an open spot in the Moose defense.

Wasilla would lose that second set, but the continued persistence DePriest and the Warriors showed during that stretch ultimately led to a Wasilla win.

In its final match of the regular season, Wasilla outlasted rival Palmer 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-12) Tuesday night at Wasilla High School.

“To be able to keep playing aggressively in a long rally, it takes a special thing,” Wasilla head coach Josie Cannon said of her squad. “It’s hard on a hitter having to keep coming back. To actually have them keep going is huge.”

That resiliency Wasilla showed throughout the match helped Wasilla edge Palmer and finish the regular season 7-3 in Northern Lights Conference play. Cannon said her team’s ability to out-duel the steady Moose squad proved to be vital to the win.

“Palmer’s a really consistent team. You have to (be more consistent than them),” Cannon said.

Cannon lauded Palmer’s defense, a unit led by senior libero Carly Venzke, who grabbed 10 digs in the match.

“Their libero is a frieken stud. You have to keep it away from her,” Cannon said of Venzke. “That’s something we talked about going into this match, keeping it out of her hands.”

To counter the Venzke-led Palmer defense, Wasilla used it’s tall front to continually attack the Palmer side.

Middle hitter Olivia Vincent led Wasilla with 13 kills. DePriest and Brooke Queripel added 11 kills each. DePriest also finished with a match-high six blocks.

“Wasilla’s a good team. Their middles always stand out,” Palmer head coach Jayme DeHart said.

Palmer held a 2-1 lead in the best-of 5 match heading into the fourth set, and was within reach of winning the match in four games. Palmer tied the score at 22 with a Wasilla attack error. The Warriors, with a DePriest kill and Lindsey Cizek service ace on the game’s final point, cemented the fourth set to force a decisive Game 5.

“We practiced for a fifth game yesterday,” Cannon said of the Warriors, who used a fifth game to edge Palmer earlier this season. “It’s a different momentum game (going to 15 points) than a 25-point game. We planned for it.”

After the score of the fifth game was tied at 3, 5 and 7, Wasilla went on a short run to take a 13-9 lead. The Warriors survived a pair of attack errors and a service ace from Palmer’s Sammy Buresh to score a 15-12 win in the final set.

Buresh led the Moose with 17 kills in the match. Holly Corbin added nine kills. Tiana Lee had 39 assists. Venzke led the Moose with 10 digs.

Courtney Anthony finished with 17 digs and five aces for Wasilla. Cizek had 26 assists, nine digs and three aces. Maggie Zwolinski finished with 22 assists, eight digs and three aces.

With the win, Wasilla clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NLC Championships, which starts next week in Kenai.

“We wanted to be the first or second (seed),” Cannon said. “Ideally we want to be opposite of Kodiak in the bracket. They’re a strong team. I think we can beat them. I just want to play them later in the tournament.”

Kodiak (8-0) has clinched the top seed in the NLC tourney.

Palmer dropped to 4-4 with the loss. The Moose host Kodiak Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Palmer High School. The Moose are currently fourth in the NLC, behind Kodiak, Wasilla and Soldotna (5-4). The Stars play Kenai (2-7) Saturday. Colony (1-9) has concluded its regular season.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.