Rematch of Valley rivals highlight first round

PALMER — The first round of the Northern Lights Conference tournament is going to feel a lot like the final weekend of the regular season.

Both of the bracket’s first-round matchups are rematches of last weekend’s action.

Fourth-seeded Colony (4-6) will face fifth-seeded Wasilla (2-8) and third-seeded Soldotna (5-5) hosts sixth-seeded Kenai (1-9) during the tournament’s first day of competition, Thursday at Soldotna High School.

Colony swept Wasilla 3-0 and Soldotna got past Kenai 3-1 last Friday.

“That’s always tough,” Colony head coach Amy Carter said of the rematch. “They’re going to come back stronger the next time.”

Carter was quick to note that despite the Knights’ win last Friday, Colony and Wasilla split the two-match season series. Both teams have enjoyed steady improvement throughout the 2013 regular season. Carter said if the Knights play like they did during their regular-season finale, she’s excited about the potential.

“We’ve been trying to work a lot on the little things,” Carter said. “This time of the year it’s all about the little things.”

Senior libero Chelsea Friesen and juniors Ashley Turcotte, Sophie Hall and Mackenzie Everett are among the leaders of the Knights’ 2013 squad.

Wasilla has been led by senior libero Aimee Bushnell.

The match is set for Thursday at 1 p.m. at Soldotna High.

The winner of the Colony-Wasilla match will quickly move forward and play later in the day. The winner will meet top-seeded Kodiak (10-0) at 6 p.m.

Colony and Wasilla will hit the court early in Day 1 of the tournament, but second-seeded Palmer (8-2) and top-seeded Kodiak (10-0) both received first-round byes, and will play later in the day.

This is the second year the NLC has used the six-team double-elimination format with a pair of first-round byes. The loss of former NLC teams Homer and Skyview after the 2011 season forced the need for the change.

Palmer also received a first-round bye last year, and did not play on Day 1. Longtime Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds said he was not sure if he liked the new format.

“I’m not crazy about the bye in general,” Reynolds said after a regular-season ending loss to Kodiak last Saturday.

But things will be different this year for the Moose, and Palmer hopes the outcome will be different too. Last season, the top two teams did not play on the first day of the tournament, and Palmer was upset by host Kodiak on Day 2. This year, the top two teams will play during the evening of the first day of the tourney.

Palmer will face either Kenai or Soldotna Thursday at 8 p.m.

With the losses to Kodiak, Palmer is forced to settle for the second seed this year, drawing a Peninsula team in Round 2. Reynolds said he was hoping Palmer would land on the opposite side of the bracket of Soldotna, the host of the tourney.

“We were hoping to avoid that, but Kodiak took care of business nicely all season,” Reynolds said.

Despite the losses to the Bears (3-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday), Reynolds is still feeling very good about his 2013 squad.

“It’s just a matter of getting it all put together at the right time,” Reynolds said.

Palmer has been led by a group that includes senior setter Macey Buresh, senior outside hitter Elliot Perkins and senior middle hitter Brecken Riekena.

After the first-round matches, Kodiak will play the Wasilla/Colony winner at 6 p.m. and Palmer will face the Soldotna/Kenai winner at 8 p.m. Thursday night.

The winners of Thursday night’s action will move forward to play in the semifinals Friday at 5 p.m.

With the true double-elimination tourney, teams can still fight their way back into the championship match even with a loss.

The Soldotna/Kenai loser will face the loser of the Kodiak semifinal Friday at 11 a.m. The Colony/Wasilla loser will face the loser of the Palmer semifinal Friday at 1 p.m.

The winners of those games will play Friday at 7 p.m.

The championship match is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. An if necessary match is slated for Saturday at 3 p.m.