Moose sweep rival Knights

PALMER — The Palmer Moose worked to a quick three-set win over the Colony Knights at Palmer High School Tuesday night. But the head coaches of both programs were quick to say it’s hard to base much on the early-season match.

“It’s too early in the season,” Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds said after his team’s 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-20) win over the Knights. “I think it’s way too early to make any sort of assumptions.”

Colony head coach Amy Carter agreed.

“We’re barely into September,” Carter said.

The Knights, who have spent much of the early chunk of the season without senior standout Mary Klapperich, led early in Game 1, but the Moose were able to rally.

Both teams have played sparingly since the Palmer Jamboree, which signaled the start of the 2012 season. The Knights have earned three-game sweeps over Wasilla and East Anchorage. Palmer suffered a 3-1 loss to Dimond last week at Palmer High. After that Dimond match, Reynolds said his players were off the court for the long holiday weekend, and the Moose spent Tuesday trying to get back into the swing of things.

“Speaking for my team, the first game was a little sloppy,” Reynolds said. “We had four days off where we didn’t do anything. It definitely showed. It was a little rusty early on.”

Reynolds said he felt his squad recovered late in Game 1. The set was tied at 23, and Palmer was able to escape with the slim 27-25 win.

“Winning the first game got us going,” Reynolds said. “I think that turned the emotional tide for us.”

Junior Elliott Perkins led the Moose with 12 kills and four aces in the win. Perkins served a string of points during the second set that allowed the Moose to build a significant lead. Lily Cullers collected a match-high 11 digs for Palmer. Setter Macey Buresh recorded 25 assists.

Allison Leigh led the Knights with 10 kills in the loss, and Brooke Nezaticky added six. Chelsea Freisen had seven digs.

Colony returns to the court today to host Juneau-Douglas at 4 p.m. at Colony High.

Juneau 3, Palmer 2

The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears edged the Palmer Moose 3-2 (17-25, 27-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-8) at Palmer High Thursday night.

Perkins led Palmer with 14 kills in the match. Cullers finished with 15 digs, and Buresh collected 31 assists.

Chelsea Peterson posted a match-high 19 kills for Juneau.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him @matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.