Knights claim Region III title, Worley named player of the year

KODIAK For the third-straight year, the Colony Knights are the Region III volleyball champions, and for the third-straight year, they won it by sweeping their opponent in the final match.

The Knights won the Region III title by sweeping the host Kodiak Bears Saturday, 15-11, 15-10 and 15-5. Colony coach Kim Floyd said she was impressed with her teams play against Kodiak in the title game with so much on the line.

I set the bar high with my expectations at the beginning of the season, and Saturday, my players showed me that they could meet those expectations, Floyd said. That was how I envisioned us playing all season.

The key for the Knights was the play in the middle. Sara Westjohn and Jessica Moore provided key blocks during the match and completely shut down the powerful Kodiak offense. Moore had five solo blocks and Westjohn had three to keep the Bears at bay.

Senior Jessica Tyson finished with 12 kills in the championship game, in addition to two aces and nine digs on defense. Kit Worley served six aces and dished out 18 assists.

It seemed like the kids couldnt do anything wrong against Kodiak, Floyd said. It was absolutely incredible to watch. I basically didnt have to coach them because they were so focused on winning the match.

To get into the championship game, the Knights beat Kenai in their first-round game and then beat Wasilla. In the entire tournament, the Knights dropped just two games both of them to Wasilla in a 11-15, 15-3, 15-13, 13-15, 15-7 five-game Colony win. The Knights also were playing without senior Kelly Tomlinson, who was out with an injury to her finger. Westjohn also was playing with a bad case of the flu.

Wasilla had one heck of a tournament, Floyd said. They really pushed us to the limit.

Palmer captured third place in the tournament with a 15-1, 15-10, 13-15, 13-15, 15-5 victory over Wasilla. With the victory, the Moose secured the final Region III berth in the state tournament, which begins Thursday. The Moose had a great 9-1 record in conference play this season and entered the tournament as one of the three favorites along with Kodiak and Colony to win a state tournament berth. Their only region loss came against Colony, but they beat the Knights twice this season.

Palmer won its first-round game against Soldotna in three games, 15-2, 15-7, 15-7 and advanced to the second round to face Kodiak. The Bears beat the Moose in three games, although all of them were extremely close. Palmer fell 17-15, 17-15 and 15-9 and then faced Kenai in the losers bracket. The Moose advanced to the third-place game with a 15-4, 15-5, 15-8 win over the Kardinals.

The Warriors beat Skyview in the first round 13-15, 15-11, 15-12, 15-11 and then played Colony tough before succumbing to the Knights. They then dropped a five-game match to the Moose with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

Following the tournament, Worley was named the Region III Player of the Year, based on voting by the coaches in the region. Worley, a senior setter, is clearly the leader of the Colony squad that dropped only one match in region play this season.

She has played great all four years, and it was nice to see her honored for it, Floyd said. She deserved the honor for all shes done.

Worley was the only Colony player on the first-team all-region squad, but there was no shortage of Valley players honored.

Palmers Lisa Munyon, Diana West and Laura Lee all made the first-team, as did Wasillas Katie Groundwater. Tomlinson, Moore and Tyson all made the second-team from Colony, as did Wasillas Alina Minnick and Kasandra DeHart and Palmers Tayleigh Hann.

First-team all-region

Kit Worley, Colony; Lisa Munyon, Palmer; Angelique Talbot, Kodiak; Jenny Hudson, Skyview; Diana West, Palmer; Laura Lee, Palmer; Tiaree DeMello, Kenai; Lelani Mafuli, Kodiak; Katie Groundwater, Wasilla; Katie Koch, Homer.

Second-team all-region

Alison Putnam, Kodiak; Kelly Tomlinson, Colony; Mandy Dehlbom, Skyview; Kasandra Dehart, Wasilla; Michelle Hanson, Soldotna; Jessica Moore, Colony; Tayleigh Hann, Palmer; Lindsey Vorachek, Kodiak; Guylynn Rogers, Homer; Jessica Foster, Soldotna; Alina Minnick, Wasilla; Sarah Dehlbom, Skyview; Jessica Tyson, Colony.

Honorable mention

all-region

Sara Westjohn, Colony; Sadie Daleboat, Skyview; Tammaron Frank, Kenai; Britt Ehrhardt, Kenai; Leigh Peck, Palmer; Dalane Hamik, Homer; Tessa Rhyner, Kenai; Stephanie Arbolevsky, Kenai; Mandy Remus, Wasilla; Brett Ricker, Wasilla; Alexis Hansen, Homer; Erin Matthews, Homer.

Region III good-sport team

Megam Mecham, Soldotna; Liz Carstens, Kodiak; Tessa Rhyner, Kenai; Lisa Munyon, Palmer; Rory Preston, Colony; Katie Groundwater, Wasilla; Alexis Hansen, Homer, Neressa Arbucci, Skyview.