Prep volleyball: Warriors top Bartlett

Sept. 24, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Marge Johnson just wants her team to keep hitting the ball.

&#8220Keep swinging,” the Wasilla head volleyball coach said after her squads 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21) nonconference win over Bartlett at WHS on Friday. &#8220Keep swinging. It's going to come. You're going to miss a few, but keep swinging.”

Regardless of the score Friday, Wasilla kept swinging.

Junior hitter Ashlen Welch and sophomore hitter Jenna Johnson combined for 68 hits in the match. Welch posted a team-high 13 kills, while Johnson added 11.

Welch helped the Warriors pull themselves out of a deep hole in the third game. With Bartlett holding a five-point lead, Welch posted three consecutive kills to cut Bartlett's advantage to 8-6.

Wasilla took a 16-12 lead, thanks to a bullet that came off the right hand of Welch and landed in between a pair of Golden Bears, just inside the back line. On the next serve, Welch clipped the antennae with a soft hit, after a lengthy rally. Even though the Warriors did not get the point, a collection of stellar digs seemed to spark WHS.

&#8220Re-focused them,” Johnson said.

Playing in the long rally is something the Warriors have been stressing, Johnson said. The number of digs on Friday was evidence of that.

Following the long rally, Wasilla used a 5-1 run to help clinch the game.

Colony 3, Wasilla 0

The Colony Knights swept rival Wasilla 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-17) at WHS on Tuesday.

Hannah Curtis led the Knights with 13 kills and eight digs. Kara Larson added five kills, three aces and six

digs.

Johnson led the Warriors with four kills and three blocks.

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