FINISH LINE

PALMER — Experience counts, especially when up 2-0 against one of the better teams in the state.

Colony learned this lesson the hard way at home Thursday, jumping out to a fast two-game lead on the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears before losing 3-2 (25-8, 25-18, 13-25, 16-25, 15-17). With 10 of 11 varsity players seniors, the Bears didn’t lose composure when the Knights had them down. For Colony, a relatively young squad with four seniors, how to put a match away is still a challenge.

“Juneau’s a good team and picked up their play, but our struggle is finishing and being able to keep it together,” Colony head coach Amy Carter said.

While the match finished on a disappointing note for the Knights, it was all Colony at the start. The Knights dominated Juneau-Douglas in game one. Already up 4-1, captain Laura Maresh, who finished the match with five aces, served up nine straight points for a commanding 14-2 lead. A pair of Shellina Irwin aces put the game out of reach at 19-3.

Irwin continued as a stalwart for the Knights, recording 17 kills, four aces and eight digs over the five games.

That first game shows that Colony, which hadn’t been in a five-game match until Thursday, can play with anyone in the state at any given time.

Carter’s players “were ready, that’s for sure,” she said. “That’s what I see in practice on a regular basis.”

Keeping that domination up is the next challenge, Carter said. She saw some of that in the second game, a 25-18 Colony win punctuated by a pair of Allison Leigh aces to close out. But while the Knights were up 2-0 and on a roll, Juneau turned the tables in the third game.

Colony took an early 6-4 lead on a Kathryn Mayer kill, but then the Golden Bears finally came out from their hibernation, outscoring the Knights 17-3 for a 21-9 lead, including a string of seven straight service points for Juneau-Douglas’ Kalea Chapman.

What happened between games two and three for the Knights to lose their edge is a mystery to Carter.

“We basically stopped calling the ball and couldn’t get back under it,” she said. “We’ve done that against Wasilla, we’ve done that here.”

Although the Crimson Bears found some life in the third game, Colony still had a chance to put Juneau-Douglas away in game four. With the game close and the Bears leading 17-16, Vika Toetuu stepped up to serve seven straight points to put the game away.

In the final game, both teams gave away several side-outs, but Colony came out on the wrong end, 17-15.

Thursday’s match holds several lessons for the Knights, Carter said. First, no lead is ever too safe to let your guard down. Second, Colony has the talent to play with anyone.

“The potential is there, I’ve known that since the beginning of the season,” she said. “Every day, every one of (the Knights) does something better.”

One bright point in the match was the play of Olivia Martin, who had 23 assists and five aces.

“She served really well,” Carter said. “We did hit the ball well, too. When we free-ball passed, we got a kill every time, nearly.”

The Knights will have another chance to put away a game at Kodiak, where they play tonight and tomorrow.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.