Knights scare Wasilla in season-ending loss

WASILLA — If an upset loss to Valley rival Palmer at last weekend’s Northern Lights Conference regional finals wasn’t enough to wake up Wasilla, another Valley rival was pleased to sound the alarm.

Colony squared off with the Warriors in Friday morning’s consolation semifinals of the ASAA/First National Bank State Volleyball Championships at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center. Wasilla would win the match 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 11-25, 15-10), but not without a fight.

Within a few minutes of the first game, the Knights had built a 19-11 lead and were cruising to a fast win before Wasilla finally woke up. Junior hitter Sariah Tuisaula pounded five kills and reeled off four straight serves — including a pair of aces — to pull the Warriors even at 21. But the rally was a little too late, as Colony sophomore Olivia Martin put the game away 26-24 with an ace.

After the match, Wasilla head coach Claudia Farias Pinard gave credit to the Knights for being prepared and playing strong.

“Everybody here are really even teams and are playing their best,” she said. “You can’t afford to have a bad game. My team is really good to come back when they’re down, but sometimes that comes too late.”

The Warriors would take control of the match after the first-game loss, winning the next two games to take a 2-1 lead.

That’s when Colony seemed to get a wake-up call of its own. A fired-up Knights team came out fast and strong, dominating Wasilla in the fourth game, 25-11. Colony led 5-1 early and 9-4 when senior Shellina Irwin stepped up to the service line. She served five straight points for the Knights, including and ace, and had a pair of kills.

The real story of the fourth game, however, was the play of Colony’s front line. Sophomores Mary Klapperich and Allison Leigh, along with senior Tess Forstner, dominated Wasilla up front, blocking any ball they weren’t spiking for a kill.

Colony head coach Amy Carter said that game showed how good her team can be when it puts all the pieces together at the same time.

“They came out and were on fire,” she said. “I mean, my girls played well, played confidently that whole game. We’ve been getting better since the season started and I’m very proud of these girls in how they played today and how they played all season.”

Although Wasilla would win the deciding fifth game and advance to Saturday’s consolation final against Juneau-Douglas, the Knights played one of their best matches of the year, Carter said.

“When I look back from when we (first) played these guys at the end of September, it’s huge how far we’ve come,” she said.

For seniors Irwin, Forstner, Laura Maresh and Kathryn Mayer, it was their final game in a Colony uniform. Carter praised them all and said they’ll be missed.

“Shellina’s that all-around player who gets the big kill when we need the big kill, the big dig or serve — whatever it is, she does a great job,” she said. “We’re going to miss her next year, as we are all those seniors. Replacing them all is going to be tough.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.