Kenny Lake eliminates Rams in 2A volleyball tourney

ANCHORAGE — Last season, the Susitna Valley Rams volleyball squad made school history, winning its first state volleyball title. But after the majority of that squad graduated, the Rams knew they’d be rebuilding this year.

The good news is the rebuilding effort included another trip to the state tournament. But Su Valley’s run through the tourney, ended on the second day. Kenny Lake eliminated the Rams with a 3-1 (25-16, 13-25, 25-23, 25-23) victory in consolation semifinal action of the ASAA/First National Bank 2A State Volleyball Championships Friday at Dimond High School in Anchorage.

The loss was the second in as many days for the Rams. Thursday, Dillingham opened with a 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-18) win over Susitna Valley in the first round.

Su Valley entered the the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the Borealis Conference. Unalaska edged Su Valley in five games to win the Borealis title during the conference tournament last week at Birchwood Christian School. The Rams bounced back to beat Ninilchik 3-0 to earn its state tournament berth.

Sarena Drover and Ruby Matthews were named All-Borealis Conference, and all-tournament after the championships. Deborah Johnston was the team’s academic star, with her 4.0 grade point average.

The Rams graduated seven seniors from the team that won the 2A state title last year. This year, the Rams only have one senior and three juniors on the roster. Despite the youth, Su Valley finished 12-2 in the regular season. The Rams won the Lumen Dig Pink Spiketacular, and were the runners-up at the Ninilchik Spikefest and Tri-Valley Slamma Jamma.

Drover led the Rams with 258 kills during the regular season. Matthews had 195 kills. Matthews also led the team with 37 blocks.