Moose net third in state tourney

ANCHORAGE -- For the third time in three weeks, the Palmer Moose volleyball squad faced the Homer Mariners.

With a win in the third match, Palmer sealed third place in the 2002 Alaska State Volleyball Championships at West High School Saturday.

The finish in the state tournament matches a school record for Palmer. During the first year of head coach Steve Reynolds' tenure in 2000, the Moose also took third.

"Looking at the bracket, we figured we might get someone from our region," Reynolds said.

The Moose needed four games to get by their region rivals, defeating the Mariners 3-1 (15-11, 11-15, 15-5, 15-10).

Palmer opened up the match with a quick 3-0 lead thanks to three consecutive Emily Sakis kills. While the first kill was a hard hit into the center of the Homer defense, the following two points were scored after Sakis tipped the ball over the net and placed it between members of the Homer line. The Sakis tip was play that constantly baffled opponents through the three-day tournament.

After Palmer took the quick lead, the Mariners were able to sail back in the match, jumping to an 8-5 advantage. Palmer's Cate Jelle blocked a Chelsea Ward hit to cut the lead to 8-6 and consecutive Jesse Macknicki kills tied the score at 8-8. Megan Tompkins notched two straight aces to give Palmer a 10-8 lead.

Homer cut the score to 10-9, but that would be the closest margin of the game as two Jelle kills and a pair of Homer attack errors led to Palmer's 15-11 win.

The Moose were again able to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the second game, but Homer put together a pair of multiple point runs to tie the score at 6-6. Holly McCune registered three service aces to give Homer a 9-6 advantage.

The score remained deadlocked at 10-7 before Tompkins broke from the teams' trend of trading side outs with a kill down the right line.

Following the Tompkins kill, the momentum swung back Homer's way and the Mariners took the second game and tie the match at 1-1.

The Moose used a trio of runs to work through the Mariners quickly in game three. The Moose jumped out to leads of 4-0 and 7-4. With the score 7-5, Palmer went on an eight point run to win the game. Jelle notched three blocks during the run and Macknicki added a pair of kills.

In the fourth game of the match, neither Homer or Palmer led by more than two points untill the Moose were able to take a 10-7 lead. Macknicki recorded two kills to give PHS a 12-7 lead. Homer narrowed the game to 12-9 before Sakis notched a kill to give Palmer the side out and return possession to the Moose.

With the score 12-9, Ward delivered a hard hit over the net only to be blocked by Sakis. The play was a fine example of the strength of two of the top players in the region, with Sakis winning the battle.

Jayme Irvine sealed the game and the match with a service ace.

The Moose had one of the hardest roads to travel in the tournament, facing a pair of region champions in addition to Homer.

Palmer opened in the first round with Service, the Region IV champion. The Moose downed the Cougars 15-2, 15-8, 15-13 in the teams' second meeting of the year. Sakis led the squad with 25 kills and seven blocks against Service.

The win over Service matched the Moose with easily their toughest opponent of the season, Juneau Douglas.

Though the Bears went on the sweep the match 3-0, the Moose certainly tested the state's top team.

In the first game of the match, JDHS jumped out to leads of 8-2 and 10-4, but the Moose battled back.

Palmer cut the score to 11-8 before the Bears were able to finish the game.

Juneau stormed ahead 6-0 and 12-5 in the second game and the Moose battled back once again. Palmer took a 13-12 lead, but Juneau was able to rebound and score three points to win the match 15-13.

The third match was very similar with the Bears building leads of 8-0, 10-5 and 13-7 before Palmer climbed back in the match and earned the 13-13 tie.

Juneau was again able to score a late rally and get the victory.

"We gave up big leads, but they just fought and fought," Reynolds said of his team in the match against Juneau. "They just never gave up at all."

Sakis led the team with 16 kills and 18 digs, while Macknicki turned in one of her finest performances of the season with 15 kills and 17 digs4.