Defending state champs knock Warriors into consolation round

ANCHORAGE — Coming into this year's state tournament, the Wasilla Warriors were hoping to build on the momentum the team built with a surprising third-place finish in the Northern Lights Conference tournament. Unfortunately, the South Wolverines had other ideas.

Led by 19 kills from senior middle hitter Sarah Hibbert, the Cook Inlet champion Wolverines dashed Wasilla's state title hopes with a 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16) win in the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Volleyball Championships at West Anchorage High School.

Despite the loss, Wasilla coach Anna Simmons said she was pleased with how Wasilla played against the two-time defending state champions, which improved to 17-1 on the season with the win..

“My girls did a great job coming out,” Simmons said.

Wasilla took the early lead in the opening game, getting a big kill from senior middle hitter Alana Wright to go up 5-4. But the Wolverines seized momentum with a 9-3 run from that point on, and Wasilla was never able to recover, falling 25-18.

The Warriors put up a much bigger fight against the Cook Inlet Conference champion Wolverines in the second

game.

Senior captain Ashlen Welch started a crucial 5-0 run for Wasilla midway through the game with a spike off the South blockers, then used a sizzling run from the service line to stake the Warriors to a 17-13 lead. Two of Welch's serves during the run bounced off helpless South defenders and sailed into the stands. The big run enabled the Warriors to cruise to a 25-10 win and tie the match at one game apiece.

Welch led Wasilla with five aces in the match for Wasilla, which used its serve to keep pressure on the Wolverines all night. As a team, Wasilla finished with 10 service aces on the match.

“We had some strong serving,” Simmons said.

South head coach Judy Knecht said she knew Wasilla was going to come out and give her powerful team a good run.

“The Valley's really tough this year with Palmer and Colony, so we knew they had to be tough to hang with those guys,” Knecht said.

Any momentum the Warriors may have gained in the second game was quickly erased by a 7-1 South run to start the third. The quick South start was too much for the underdog Warriors to overcome as the Wolverines rolled to a dominant 25-13 win.

Wasilla could never quite overcome South's veteran front line in the match. Led by a pair of big seniors up front — Hibbert is just over six feet tall while Noah goes 6-foot-2 — the Wolverines were able to consistently apply pressure both offensively and by forcing Wasilla's smaller hitters to tip the ball or risk hitting into the teeth of the South block.

Knecht also credited the team's experience as being a crucial factor in the match.

“We have eight seniors, so we've been here before,” she said.

Despite the front-line disadvantage, the Warriors hung tough in the fourth game, forcing South to call timeout after a 7-4 start highlighted by back-to-back kills from junior Jenna Johnson.

The Wolverines were able to regroup from that point on, finishing the game on a 12-3 run en route to a 25-16 victory.

Johnson led the Warriors with 11 kills and seven blocks.

“She's a good all-around player,” Simmons said.

Alana Wright added six kills for Wasilla, while Welch added five to go along with a team-high 16 digs. Senior setter Stephanie Bair had a game-high 17 assists for the Warriors. Junior libero Sam Lewis also had a strong game defensively, picking up 14 digs.

The loss dropped Wasilla to 7-10 on the season and into the consolation round, where they'll play today at 10:45 a.m. against the Palmer Moose, which lost in five games to Eagle River in the final match of the evening Thursday.

Last week, the Warriors came up through the consolation bracket to seize its first state tournament berth since 2003, and Simmons said she expects her team to come out today and use the NLC experience to its advantage.

“We're confident because of how we played last weekend and how we played against South,” Simmons said. “It's just all about being consistent.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com