Palmer defeats crosstown rival to win first Region III title in 17 years

PALMER -- Palmer's Colony High School was the site of the 2003 Region III volleyball championship tournament, and it was only appropriate that a pair of Palmer programs battled for the region title.

In the championship, a match much like a heavyweight bout, Palmer High School was able to deliver the final blow. The Moose edged the Colony Knights 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 25-27, 15-9) in the battle of the Valley volleyball powers.

In a championship battle of heavyweights, the power of a mighty uppercut or a strong left jab could be the difference. On the hardwood Saturday, it was the power of Palmer outside hitter Jessie Macknicki that proved to be the difference.

Macknicki nailed 12 of her match-high 25 kills in the final two games of the match to lead the Moose past Colony.

"The other team expects me to get the ball, so they go block me first," Macknicki said. "That's when the other hitters get kills."

Early in the match, it was not just Macknicki, but a corps of Moose that handled the hitting duties for Palmer.

Middle hitter Karaline Naegele and outside hitters Alicia Berberich and Megan Sweeney kept the ball flying over the net, but it was Macknicki who delivered the final blows.

After the Moose and Macknicki, who was given a yellow-card penalty after contesting a call early in the fourth game, struggled and found themselves trailing 9-1 at the beginning of the fourth game, Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds temporarily pulled his star player.

"She had a bit of a slump in the fourth game, so we took her out, sat her on the bench and told her to take a break," Reynolds said. "She knows that she has to get her act together if we are going to win. We stuck her back in, she started playing again and by the end of the fourth game she gained momentum."

Macknicki took that momentum and peppered the Knights with powerful hits. Macknicki's hits were not only powerful, but precise as she painted the left side on Colony's end of the court with her hits.

"We knew that side had been open," Macknicki said. "We didn't get the right sets until the fifth game."

Throughout the fourth and fifth games, Palmer setter Jayme Irvine, who collected 39 assists in the match, consistently set up Macknicki with the ball and Macknicki consistently pounded the Knights with hits.

The Moose senior opened the fifth game by earning four out of Palmer's first five points in the match as the Moose took a quick 5-0 lead. Macknicki added a kill to give the Moose a 7-1 lead, and another to break a 4-1 Colony run.

Macknicki also served five straight points to turn a 7-5 Palmer lead into a 12-5 Moose advantage.

Palmer jumped to a 1-0 lead in the match and a 7-0 lead in the second game, but the Knights fought back. Once Colony tied the game at 11-11, the Knights and the Moose were never separated by more than three points in the game.

After a six-point win in the third game, Colony leapt to a 9-1 lead in the fourth game as Palmer tried to close the door on the Knights.

The Moose fought back with a 16-7 run and tied the game at 18-18. Palmer followed with kills from Naegele and Macknicki and forced a Colony error to take a 21-19 lead. The teams would see ties of 22-22 and 25-25.

Colony's Rochelle Ray placed a kill just inside the backline to give the Knights a 26-25 lead and Amanda Aafedt found a whole in the back of the Moose defense to help the Knights force a fifth game.

In addition to Macknicki's 25 kills, Sweeney posted 15 kills for the Moose. Naegele added 12 for Palmer.

"By the end of the fourth game, Megan was doing more than usual," Reynolds said. "She doesn't get tons of kills, but she doesn't get errors."

Reynolds said that Sweeney's play on defense late in the match was also important in the

win.

"She had the best night of her senior year, but she wasn't working hard enough on defense," Reynolds said. 'I told her that we needed more defense from her to go with her consistent hitting. She came out in the fourth game working hard and going for the ball."

Reynolds also praised the work of Naegele.

"She had her best night, did a lot of good stuff," Reynolds said.

This is the second consecutive season that Palmer has played a five-game region championship match. Last season Skyview edged the Moose 15-13 in the fifth game to win the 2002 Region III title.

Palmer's 2003 crown is the team's first region title since 1986.

"I am sure I would be a depressed man if I knew how many times Palmer has been number two," Reynolds said. "We have been second so many times and Palmer was second a bunch of times before I took over."

In addition to its high region finishes, Palmer has three third-place finishes in the state tourney. The Moose will be looking for their first trip to the state championship game this weekend. They first face Dimond, Thursday at 7:45 p.m. at West High School in Anchorage.

Following the championship bout, Macknicki was named the Region III Northern Division Player of the Year. Irvine was named first-team All-Region III and Berberich was named second-team all-region. Joiing Ivine on the all-region squad were Aafedt and Ray from Colony and Wasilla's Laural Creel.