Knights storm into 4A volleyball state title match

The Colony Knights entered the state tournament as the second seed out of their conference with one of the younger varsity rosters in the 4A field.

But that does not mean Colony could be overlooked.

Colony stormed through three opponents during the first two days of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships, and secured a spot in the state final with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21) win over Chugiak Friday evening at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. The Knights advanced to the championship match for the seventh time in school history and first since 2009. Colony earned its lone state volleyball title in 1998.

Colony will play either Chugiak or Dimond in the championship match Saturday at 4 p.m. The Mustangs and Lynx meet in an elimination match Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Knights have already beaten Dimond, a perennial state power, in the tourney. Colony scored a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21) win over the Lynx in the second round Thursday. Colony opened its tourney with a 3-0 (25-6, 25-22, 25-13) sweep of Lathrop.

The Knights are a team heavy with juniors and feature just one senior, middle hitter Ryann Evey, on the roster. The Knights are also led by a pair of freshman phenoms, setter Emily DeHart and outside hitter Taylor Passard.

The Knights finished second in the Northern Lights Conference. Colony was the No. 2 seed in the tourney and forced an if necessary game with a 3-1 over top-seeded Soldotna in the region final. The Stars edged Colony 30-28 in the if necessary game.

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