Glacier View wins state title

GLACIER VIEW — It took only two seasons for the Glacier View volleyball team to make school history.

In just the second season as an Alaska Schools Activities Association-sanctioned program, the Wolverines scored a state title, beating Noatak 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 15-7) in the ASAA/First National Bank Mixed 6 Volleyball Championships Saturday at Dimond High School in Anchorage.

“I knew they had it in them,” Glacier View coach Louanna Boyer said.

Glacier View, a small school of 38 students that sits alongside of the Glenn Highway north of Chickaloon, produced a state tournament team for the second consecutive year. Last season, the Wolverines won the Southwestern Conference title and played to a fifth-place finish in the state tourney. This year, the Wolverines beat Noorvik 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-15) and Unalakleet 3-1 (23-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-22) and Noatak en route to their first state title.

“They just needed a little more experience,” Boyer said.

Mixed 6 is a class designed for small schools, that puts boys and girls on the court at the same time. Glacier View has nine players on the team, a squad that actually accounts for more than a quarter of the school’s student body. There are six boys on the team (senior Trayton Cohen, senior Andrei Mays, junior Sergei Mays, junior Robert van Daam, sophomore Joseph Lucia and sophomore Carlen Thiessen) and three girls (junior Allison Ruisch, junior Jennifer Lee and junior Miranda Roub).

“I had a good feeling they would do well this year,” Boyer said.

Boyer said she has a dedicated bunch, who works through a schedule that includes much more practice than live match action. Glacier View does have a home-and-home series with its biggest rival Nikolaevsk, a small Russian Orthodox village near Anchor Point, but those are the Wolverines’ only official matches until the conference tournament.

“They’re the only other Mixed 6 team in the road system,” Boyer said.

Boyer said she tries to put together scrimmages against adults in the community, but it’s sometimes hard to set up matches against other kids with a similar skill level.

Glacier View made the trip to Newhalen, a town located on the north shore of Illiamna Lake in Southwestern Alaska.

The Wolverines faced two teams in the conference event, Nikolaevsk and a Lake and Peninsula Borough School District all-star team. Glacier View swept its way to a conference championship and state tournament berth.

A trio of Wolverines were honored at the Mixed 6 championships Saturday. Thiessen was named the tournament’s top hitter and Roub was named top setter. Ruisch was named to the all-tournament team.

“He’s basically an all-around player,” Boyer said of Thiessen. “He’s easy to coach and he’s basically ready to try anything.”

Boyer said Roub has shown much skill at the setter position.

“She has the ability to get to the ball no matter where it is on the court,” Boyer said.

Glacier View principal Wendy Taylor said the entire school and community is excited about the team’s accomplishment.

“It doesn’t happen very often where we’re able to compete in a situation like this,” Taylor said Monday. “We only compete sports-wise in Mixed 6 volleyball.”

Taylor said this is the first time in her 16 years at Glacier View that the school could boast such an honor.

“We’re very proud of them,” Taylor said.

Taylor was not only proud of her team’s athletic achievements, but also the sportsmanship and character they showed during the tournament. Taylor said one of her school’s opponents, Unalakleet, was honoring the memory of a teammate who died accidentally last summer. The Glacier View athletes learned of this after the semifinal match on Friday. After that, the teams built a bond, Taylor said.

“The Unalakleet coach wrote me a letter. (The coach) was impressed with the bond built between the two teams,” Taylor said. “The teams rallied and supported each other.”

Taylor said there’s certainly an excitement that’s been built with the success of the volleyball team, and Glacier View hopes to continue its newfound tradition.

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