Prep volleyball: Late run lifts CHS

PALMER — At 6 feet tall, Colony senior Hannah Curtis is a fairly intimidating force in front of the net.

While the opposing Palmer Moose probably expected the typically powerful Curtis to try to pound a shot right into the floor, the versatile middle hitter may have caught the Moose a tad off-guard when she gently tipped the ball over the net into an open hole to break a 13-13 tie in the deciding fifth game Tuesday night.

But on the ensuing play, Curtis showed her power by sending a slam between a pair of Moose blockers for match point, giving the Knights a 3-2 (14-25, 25-15, 18-25, 25-14, 15-13) win over Palmer at Palmer High School.

“Hannah really stepped it up in the last four or five points,” Colony head coach Amy Carter said after the match.

Curtis led the Knights with a match-high 21 kills, and helped Colony erase a late deficit in the fifth game with three key kills

Palmer took a 13-10 lead in the fifth game with a pair of kills from senior Nicole Kenney. But Curtis and libero Jackie Hamman led the Knights on a 5-0 run to end the game.

Curtis posted kills on three of the points, and Hamman added a pair of service aces.

Curtis and fellow middle hitter Allie Grazulis helped the Knights force a fifth game with a nine-point win in the fourth. With the Knights holding a slim 6-4 lead in the fourth game, Curtis served eight straight points to push Colony’s lead to 12-4. During that stretch, Grazulis posted three kills and a solo block.

Grazulis recorded five of her 11 kills in the fourth game. With the play of Grazulis, Carter said opposing teams now cannot just key on Curtis. Also, at 5-11, Grazulis provides another tall weapon for the Knights.

Behind the hitting and serving of senior Geneva Ratcliff, Palmer scored a 25-14 win in the first game.

Ratcliff served five consecutive points to push the Moose to a 10-3 advantage in that first game. Ratcliff also had four kills and a block in game one.

Colony improved to 4-1 in Northern Lights Conference play, and took sole possession of first place of the Northern Division with the win. Palmer (5-2) now stands in second.

The Knights and Moose each host a pair of NLC foes from the Kenai Peninsula this weekend.

Colony meets Soldotna at 6:30 p.m. tonight, and Kenai 10:30 a.m. Saturday at CHS.

The Moose face Kenai at 6:30 p.m. tonight and Soldotna at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at

PHS.

Warriors sweep ACS

The Wasilla Warriors posted a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-12) nonconference sweep of Anchorage Christian School at Wasilla High School on Tuesday.

Ashlen Welch and Alana Wright each posted a team-high six kills for the Warriors, while Jenna Johnson added five.

Johnson and Stephanie Bair each collected 19 digs.

The Warriors (2-4) host Skyview tonight at 6:30 p.m. at WHS.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.