Prep volleyball: CHS wins NLC title

KENAI — This time around, Colony wasn’t going to be denied.

One year after suffering a stunning upset in the Northern Lights Conference finals to the Palmer Moose, the Knights finally got their title, taking a four-game win from a tenacious Kodiak Bears squad that did its best to play the role of spoiler.

“Kodiak came to play,” Colony coach Amy Carter — who was named NLC Coach of the Year — said following her team’s 3-1 (25-19, 8-25, 25-16, 25-23) win at Kenai Central High School Saturday night.

NLC North Division MVP Allie Grazulis led the Knights with 14 kills despite sitting out several minutes of the third game with a bloody nose. Kara Larson added 10 for the Knights, including the game-winning tip during a tense fourth game.

Kodiak’s Maureen Sabado also had 14 kills to lead the Bears.

Colony, which went undefeated in the regular season and stormed through the opening two rounds of the tournament, looked like they’d dominate again in the final. Behind five kills and a service ace from Grazulis, Colony never trailed in the opening game, looking every bit like a team looking to challenge for a state title.

But things changed dramatically in the second game thanks to Sabado and fellow outside hitter Linzee Burcham. Sabado had two aces in the game’s first 10 points, while Burcham hammered home a pair of kills to help the Bears jump out to an 8-2 lead.

Kodiak never looked back from there, shocking the Knights with an impressive 25-8 win.

“Our passing really fell apart in that game,” Grazulis said.

Many teams would have folded the tent at that point, but Colony stormed ahead, going back-and-forth in the pivotal third game. The Knights were holding a slim advantage at 19-13 when Grazulis had to leave the floor when her nose started bleeding inexplicably.

“Nothing happened, it’s just been really dry,” she said afterward.

With the Knights missing their best player, Carter turned to the team’s lone sophomore, Shellina Irwin, a player who had not played a single minute for the varsity squad up until that point.

Maybe she should have.

Irwin made an immediate impact — literally — serving an ace on her first varsity play. Her next serve wasn’t returned, either, as she handed her team a 21-13 lead. Irwin left to a standing ovation, and the Knights easily closed out the game to take a 2-1 match lead.

“I can’t really say what my thought was,” Irwin said of her unexpected contribution.

Carter said she couldn’t be happier with her young sub’s poise under pressure in a crucial situation.

“She went in there and just did a great job,” Carter said.

Irwin said she didn’t think she’d even play in the match — much less play a key role.

“It’s extremely special to me,” she said. “I bought a T-shirt to remember this.”

Colony took command of the match in the fourth game, giving themselves four match points to close out the Bears. But Kodiak wasn’t going quietly.

The Bears scored three straight points to cut Colony’s lead to 24-23 and nearly force a fifth and final game.

But after Carter called a timeout to settle her troops, Larson – whose steady presence in the middle may have been the difference in the match – placed a nifty tip into a hole in Kodiak’s defense that none of the sprawling Bears could quite reach.

The win kept Colony’s perfect season alive and gave the Knights some momentum heading into next week’s state tournament in Anchorage.

While the Knights are likely to be one of the favorites there, Grazulis said the team plans to take things one game at a time as they work toward their ultimate goal of winning a state title.

“All the teams at state are excellent,” she said. “It’s going to take a lot for us to win it.”

Matt Tunseth is a former Frontiersman sports reporter and a freelance writer in Kenai. Contact him at mutto@hotmail.com.