Knights hit court in West Valley tourney; Moose sweep at Kodiak

PALMER — The Colony Knights played their way into the top bracket during the West Valley Invitational Sept. 9-10 in Fairbanks.

Shiann Bontrager, who was named all-tournament after the event, helped Colony finish 8-3 during the tournament’s pool play. That put the Knights in the tourney’s gold bracket, along with Valdez, West Anchorage, North Pole, which each also had an 8-3 mark during pool play.

North Pole beat Colony during the first round of the bracket to advance to the semifinals.

The Knights started their three-day stay in Fairbanks Sept. 8 with a 3-1 (25-23, 15-25, 25-21, 25-19) win over Lathrop.

Eve Stephens led Colony with a dozen kills. Mikara Klawitter finished with six kills and seven digs. Aleah Yundt chipped in seven aces.

Moose sweep at Kodiak

Palmer completed a road sweep at Kodiak with a 3-0 (20-28, 26-24, 25-21) win over the Bears Sept. 10 at Kodiak High School.

Kennedy Bryan finished with 18 kills in the win. Mallory Brandford and Madi Ko recorded eight kills each.

Friday Palmer rallied in each of the final two games of the match to post a 3-1 (18-25, 25-14, 25-21, 27-25) victory over the defending Northern Lights Conference champion Bears.

Palmer trailed 18-11 during the third game and 22-15 in the fourth game. The Moose outscored Kodiak 12-3 during the final stretch of the deciding game.

Mystery Showalter collected 11 service aces and 10 digs in the win for the Moose. Bryant led the Moose with 13 kills, and Bradford added 10. Tiana Lee had 27 assists.