Moose rally for big win

PALMER -- Palmer's season has gone much like its match against Colony on Tuesday.

The Moose struggled early in the 2003 season and at one point lost seven straight matches. Since that point the Moose and their season has taken a turn for the better.

On Tuesday, the Moose struggled early and were blasted by Colony 25-13 in the first game of the match. The Moose quickly rebounded for a pivotal 3-1 (13-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-20) victory over the Knights, the top team in the Region III Northern Division.

"We weren't playing as a team," Palmer senior Jessie Macknicki said of her team's play in the first game. "We were not ready, not focused."

"(It went) terribly," Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds said.

But just like their season, the Moose did something to turn things around. The Moose used short runs to claw back and gain the lead in the second game.

"Once we got going I was really happy," Reynolds said. "We fought for every point. We kept pushing."

The Moose never owned a large advantage over the Knights, but always managed to stay one step ahead. Each time Colony tried to put together a comeback, the Moose would score an important kill, or dig a ball that could have been a Colony kill.

And much like the success of the Moose in the second half of the season, both Macknicki and Reynolds agreed that it was a team effort that led Palmer to victory.

"Everyone was doing their share," Reynolds said.

Macknicki added that a deeper Palmer bench has also been important.

"(Early in the season) we barely had subs," Macknicki said. "It helps we have more people up on the team. It gives us people to rotate."

The key hitting of Macknicki, Megan Sweeney and Karaline Naegele helped Palmer defeat the Knights.

Macknicki led the Moose with 16 kills in the final three games, and Sweeney and Naegele combined for 15 kills and just two errors in the last three games of the match.

Macknicki's contribution was constant. Sweeney and Naegele's contribution was consistent and timely.

In the second game of the match with the Moose trailing 7-4, Naegele notched three kills in a 3-1 Palmer run to cut the Colony advantage to 8-7.

Sweeney pushed the ball past a pair of Colony middle hitters on the following play to tie the score at 8-8.

The Moose did not trail again until the opening play in the fourth game.

Sweeney also came up big late in the game. Sweeney kills tied the game for the Moose twice in game four and she also nailed a kill to give Palmer its 25th point in game three.

"Megan really stepped it up tonight," Reynolds said.

The Moose not only earned a pivotal conference win, but kept their title as the queens of the cabbage.

For the second consecutive year, the Moose won the Cabbage Bowl-- a match created to celebrate the crosstown volleyball rivalry between the Moose and the Knights.

Hawks score upset

The 3A Houston Hawks knocked off a 4A foe on a road trip to the Kenai Peninsula last weekend.

Houston defeated Soldotna 3-2 (25-27, 25-13, 19-25, 25-21, 15-8) on the Stars' senior night at Soldotna High

School.

Though the Stars final homecoming game of the season was the following lowing night, Soldotna scheduled its senior night for the match against the 3A club.

"They thought we were a pushover," Houston head coach Bill Sieben said." The girls made a decision that they were going to go in there and win."