Local spikers stand out

A half-dozen high school players from the Mat-Su Valley competed for the Alaska Volleyball Association’s U-17 squad during the Denver Crossroads Junior National Qualifier tournament in Denver, Colo., earlier this month.

Wasilla’s Aryn Crane, Rebecca Stellar and Sariah Tuisaula; Colony’s Shellina Irwin and Jordan Ertz; and Palmer’s Morgan Morfe participated in the tournament that included more than 500 teams in four different age divisions. Despite starting the tourney as one of the lower seeds, the AVA U-19 squad beat several top seeds en route to a second-place finish in the silver division.

Crane and Irwin finished among the leaders for the AVA U-19 squad. Crane finished with a team-high 77 kills during the three-day tourney, while Irwin posted 61 kills.