Prep volleyball: Warriors complete run to state tourney with win over Kodiak

PALMER — During the three-day Northern Lights Conference Volleyball Championship, the Wasilla Warriors could barely be contained by opponents. Movements after earning a 3-0 win over the Kodiak Bears in the tournament’s consolation final, the Wasilla girls could not contain themselves.

The Warriors — a team that won only two conference games during the regular season — erupted with elation after earning the victory over the Bears, a win that moved Wasilla into the ASAA 4A state volleyball tournament for the first time since 2004.

“We barely won any games all year, and to now go to state is so awesome,” Wasilla senior Alana Wright said.

Wasilla’s improbable run to the state tourney started with a 3-1 win over Soldotna, the top seed from the NLC’s Southern Division, on Thursday in the first round. Sparked by the win over the Stars, Wasilla nearly knocked off Palmer, another team that had more than three times as many wins as the Warriors during the regular season.

Wasilla jumped to a quick two-game lead against the Moose before falling 3-2 to a squad that would eventually win the 2007 conference crown.

On Saturday, the Warriors rebounded from the loss to the Moose and won two matches within a five-hour span. WHS started the morning with a 3-1 win over Homer, followed a few hours later with a sweep of Kodiak.

“We came in as the underdogs and now we’re going to state, which I don’t think anyone expected,” Wright said. “We were expected to go out in the first game and lose. But we came out and won, and almost beat Palmer. To come back and win two games after a bad loss is awesome.”

Despite their 2-8 conference record, the Warriors felt they always had the pieces to the puzzle.

“Everything fell together,” said Wasilla first-year head coach Anna Simmons, who is enjoying her first state tournament berth as a coach in six years of coaching in Alaska. “We basically peaked at the right time.”

Much like what they did throughout the tournament, the Warriors used the talents of many, rather than the work of few, to beat the Bears.

Junior Jenna Johnson posted a team-high 10 kills, while junior Sammy Becker added nine and senior Ashlen Welch chipped in eight. Wasilla was also helped offensively by the likes of Wright (four kills) and senior Stephanie Bair (five kills), who proved to be a timely threat on the outside for WHS.

“I definitely think we’re a well-rounded team,” Wright said. “We’ve got a lot of strong hitters.”

While the offensive success was evident, defense was key.

“The defense was great,” Simmons said. “That’s how we were able to come out strong. Without the defense, we wouldn’t have been able to attack the ball.”

Becker led the Warriors with 19 digs, while Johnson and junior Sam Lewis each collected 13 digs.

Up front, Wasilla’s blockers helped tame a potent Kodiak attack that includes Kodiak’s first-team all-conference middle hitter Alysa Horn.

“The net play really helped us,” Simmons said. “Kodiak has a lot of strong hitters.”

The Warriors had 19 total blocks in the game.

“Without those blocks, it would have been pretty hard [to prevail],” Simmons said.

Simmons was also thrilled with Wasilla’s ability to serve the ball.

“The serving in the first two games was key,” Simmons said. “That’s how we got up on them.”

Wasilla had 12 aces in the match.

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