Warriors crowned Region III champions

KENAI - It was exactly 20 years ago when Wasilla volleyball assistant coach Adele Morgan took her Warriors high school team down to Kenai to play in the Region III championships in November.

She helped her team bring home a championship that year, and this year, her daughter Alayna added another page to the Morgan family athletic history as the Warriors went undefeated, using the minimum number of games to bring home a Region III tournament victory last weekend in Kenai.

The Warriors opened the tournament against Kenai, sending the Cardinals to the losers' bracket on Thursday with a 15-8, 15-11, 15-12 win.

Then Wasilla got a little payback against the Soldotna Stars, dispatching them in three straight games in front of their home crowd, 16-14, 15-12, 15-9.

"We were ready to be tough mentally this time around," Wasilla coach Cindy Plano said. "I'm proud of the girls. They're doing great."

Wasilla used finesse, speed and accuracy to seemingly outnumber the Region III opposition, who didn't place the ball anywhere without a Lady Warrior crouched in a defensive posture ready to return the ball. They were always in the right place at the right time.

Wasilla's serving game proved to be too much for Panther receivers to handle. The Warriors had six servers contribute service points in the first game alone.

"We are a great serving team I think," Alayna Morgan said. "We made it hard for them to run their offense by serving them really tough."

Moose, Warriors

battle at state tourney

ANCHORAGE - The Palmer Moose defeated Lathrop to cement a third-place spot, just ahead of the Warriors, in a bittersweet volleyball tournament win for six graduating seniors with high expectations.

The Moose dropped to the third-place match after losing a five-game battle to the eventual champion Cougars. The Moose only lost three matches all year.

The Wasilla Warriors rebounded from a first round Alaska State Volleyball Championship loss to the East High Thunderbirds in the November championship, and defeated the Skyview Panthers in a rematch from the Region III title game. The Warriors swept the Panthers in the fourth-place match.