Moose, Knights advance to state

SOLDOTNA — A pair of Valley teams are headed to the state tournament.

Palmer and Colony both qualified for the ASAA/First National Bank State Volleyball Championships with top-3 finishes during the final day Saturday of the Northern Lights Conference Volleyball Championships at Soldotna High School.

Palmer finished as the NLC runner-up for the second straight year. Colony finished third.

NLC champion Kodiak had to beat both Valley teams to win its region title. After falling to the Moose 3-2 (21-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-15, 15-13) during championship bracket action Friday night, the Bears clawed through the loser’s bracket of the true double-elimination style tournament and found their way back into the title match. Kodiak beat Colony 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-12). Kodiak followed with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22) win over the Moose and won the title with a 30-22 victory in the “if necessary game” tiebreaker.

In action Friday, Colony eliminated Kenai 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-14). Wasilla upset host Soldotna 3-2 (15-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-11, 15-8). That set up an elimination match between Colony and Wasilla. The Knights beat their rival to move into the match against Kodiak.

Ashley Turcotte led the Knights with seven kills and 10 digs during the loss to Kodiak. Zoe Headley added seven kills, and Chelsea Friesen chipped in 10 digs.

More information about the NLC tournament was unavailable prior to press time. For more on the upcoming state tournament, which starts Thursday at Chugiak, see the Tuesday edition of the Frontiersman.

Kodiak swept the conference’s major awards. The Bears’ Amy Willis was named NLC Coach of the Year and Hannah Wandersee earned NLC Player of the Year Honors.

Palmer’s Cassidy Giese, Elliot Perkins and Macey Buresh were all named first-team all-conference, alongside Colony’s Ashley Turcotte. Kodiak’s Summer McKechnie and Megan Pyles, Kenai’s Justice English, and Soldotna’s Katelynn Kerkvliet and Julie Litchfield were also named first-team.

Wasilla’s Ashlynn Dorn, Amber Sizemore and Aimee Bushnell earned second-team honors. Palmer’s Mariah McNamara and Chelsea Friesen were also named second-team, along with Soldotna’s Makayla Wong, and Kodiak’s Isabelle Riina and Carissa Cannon.

Hawks fall short

SEWARD — The Houston Hawks fought to stay alive on Saturday, but were swept out of play during the consolation semifinals.

Skyview ended Houston’s season with a 3-0 (25-5, 25-12, 25-8) win over the Hawks during the final day of the Southcentral Conference Championships Saturday at Seward High School.

Houston had rebounded from a first-day loss with a win over Homer Saturday morning. The Hawks edged the Mariners 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 27-25, 10-25, 15-10) during the consolation quarterfinals. Houston opened the tourney with a 3-1 loss to host Seward.

Grace Christian won the title, beating rival Anchorage Christian School 3-0. Skyview finished third, beating Seward 3-0. Grace, ACS and Skyview will represent the Southcentral in next week’s 3A state championships.

Khristin Nida was named second-team all-conference for the Hawks.