Knights win region volleyball title

PALMER — In a back-and-forth match that included a number of swings and could still go either way, Colony junior Taylee Weiss found a way to spark her team. Weiss hammered three straight kills and earned her team four out of five straight points during a pivotal third set.

The run helped the Knights earn a region title.

Colony scored a 3-1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20) win over rival Wasilla in the Northern Lights Conference championship match Nov. 6 at Palmer High School.

“In the high school volleyball game momentum is huge,” Colony head coach Steve Reynolds said after the win. “That momentum shift — when you get these big thunderous hits, especially if you get a number of them — is really key.”

Weiss led the Knights with 19 kills and 16 digs in the match. Junior setter Abby Gooch, who was named the NLC Player of the Year after the match, finished with 37 assists.

“(Abby) was well deserving of MVP. We would be lost without her,” Reynolds said. “She’s a great player. (I’m) super happy for her.”

Kaylee Janulek collected 13 digs and three aces.

“She catches us up. She gets us point spreads,” Reynolds said. “She was key for us tonight.”

Cali Ousley finished with 11 kills, and Alyvia Davis added six blocks.

Top-seeded Colony, undefeated during the regular season, beat Soldotna, Palmer and Colony en route to the title.

Wasilla bounced back from a loss in the opening match of the tournament, and the Warriors worked their way through the backside of the bracket into the final.

“This has been a good weekend for Wasilla,” Reynolds said.

Soldotna, winless during the NLC regular season, upset the fourth-seeded Warriors 3-0 during the first match of the tourney. Wasilla responded by beating Kodiak, Soldotna and Palmer in three straight elimination matches.

“I felt like after that first loss they came back and played, not like I see them all the time, but I felt like they played their best volleyball here this weekend,” Reynolds said. “Maybe you have noting to lose and you can go out and let it rip. And I felt like they did.”

Wasilla junior Vanessa Schachle sparked the Warriors during their win in the second set. Schachle scored four straight aces to give Wasilla a 15-12 lead.

“They served us super tough,” Reynolds said.

Colony, Wasilla and third-place Palmer have all advanced to the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships, which start Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Colony opens with West Anchorage, the No. 2 seeded from the Cook Inlet Conference, Thursday at 11:45 a.m. Wasilla plays CIC champion Dimond Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Palmer plays Southeast Conference champ Thunder Mountain Thursday at 3:15 p.m.

Gooch led Valley athletes with player of the year honors. Pilgrim, Davis, Schachle, Wasilla’s Bella Hays, and Palmer’s Jenna Whisenhunt and Riley Thompson were named first-team all-conference. Weiss, Wasilla’s Rylee Pitney and Jordyn Harris, and Palmer’s Brynly Crossley and Katy Meaney were named honorable mentions.

In the Southcentral Conference Championships at Redington, Kenai beat Homer 3-0 in the final to win the title. Host Redington was 1-2 in the double-elimination tournament. Houston was 0-2.

Redington’s Liane Ryan was named coach of the year. Redington’s Lexi Seymore was named first-team all-conference. Redington’s Caprice Damon, and Houston’s Emily Bitler and Abbie Baird earned second-team honors.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.