Knights finish third, Warriors fourth in state volleyball tourney

Two Valley volleyball squads finished among the top four 4A teams in the state. Colony placed third and Wasilla followed in fourth during the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships at the Alaska Airlines in Anchorage.

Dimond, the 2022 4A state champion, eliminated both Colony and Wasilla in the double-elimination bracket. The Lynx moved into the championship match with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-16, 25-14) win over the Knights. That followed a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-15) sweep of Wasilla.

Colony won its first two matches of the tournament. The Knights opened with a 3-1 (16-25, 25-21, 28-26, 25-18) victory over Thunder Mountain Thursday and beat South Anchorage 3-1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18) later that day.

Wasilla suffered a tough 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 24-26, 7-15) loss to eventual state runner-up West Anchorage in the first round. Wasilla stayed alive with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-15) win over East Anchorage in an elimination round.

Colony’s Taylee Weiss was named the most outstanding server and earned all-tournament honors. Wasilla’s Layla Hays was also named to the all-tourney team.

Houston finished 0-2 in the 3A state tournament, falling to Valdez 3-0 (18-25, 8-25, 20-25) and Nome 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 20-25, 27-25, 8-15). Houston earned its first trip to the state tournament since 1992.

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