Moose finish 2nd in Chugiak Invitational

CHUGIAK — Not even a first-round loss could keep the Palmer Moose out of the title match.

After suffering a 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 15-17) loss to host Chugiak, Palmer won four straight matches and advanced to the championship final in the double-elimination gold bracket during the Chugiak Invitational on Saturday.

Dimond was crowned the gold bracket champion after a 2-1 (21-25, 25-11, 15-2) win over Palmer in the final match. But the Moose beat West Valley, Skyview, Chugiak and South Anchorage en route to their opportunity to play for the championship.

Colony also played in the gold bracket Saturday. The Knights suffered a first-round loss to South Anchorage 2-0 (25-12, 25-10), but beat Service before falling to Chugiak in an elimination round.

In the silver bracket, Wasilla opened with a first-round win over East Anchorage, and also beat Bartlett, but was eliminated with losses to West Anchorage and East.

Pool play action on Friday determined the positions in the gold and silver brackets for the 15 teams in the tournament. Palmer finished 6-2 Friday. Colony was 4-4 and Wasilla placed 0-8.