Warriors earn region volleyball title

During Wasilla’s two regular season meetings with rival Colony, the storyline was basically the same.

Colony found a way to win it at the end. But on Saturday, the Warriors flipped the script.

Wasilla outlasted the Knights 30-28 in the if-necessary game to win the region volleyball title during the final day of the Northern Lights Conference Championships Saturday at Wasilla High School.

“The last two times we played them in five (games) and eeked it out in the end to win,” Colony head coach Steve Reynolds said. “We knew they were going to be tough to play, especially at (their) home. They’re tough at this point in the season. They’re tough at home. The weekend was a good weekend for them as well. I definitely think they are doing well at the end of the season.”

Wasilla head coach Katie Oxspring said the chemistry of her close-knit group is a big part of their success.

“They’re the most fun team I’ve ever coached. They’re a team that just likes being together. There’s no drama,” Oxspring said. “It’s just an amazing thing to be a part of, seeing them be really good teammates and fighting for each other. The ability happens to be a byproduct. They persevere. They push through. They have all season and I can’t be more proud of them.”

Oxspring said she told her players to stick with the same game plan they’ve had.

“They were calm. I told them not to do anything different. Just because what’s on the line doesn’t mean we do anything different,” Oxspring said. “We don’t back off and we don’t do anything weird. They did exactly what I asked them to do.”

Wasilla held the biggest lead, five points, during the if-necessary game, and led by four points at four times during the game. But that didn’t give the Warriors any comfort.

“When we play Colony, momentum doesn’t matter. We’ll be up by six and they will come back and take it,” Oxspring said. That’s happened all season long with them.”

The region title capped a wild weekend for the Warriors. Wasilla, the No. 2 seed, started its tourney with a 3-2 loss to third-seeded Kodiak. That sent Wasilla to the bottom side of the bracket, and the Warriors needed three straight wins to work their way back to the title match. Wasilla beat Palmer 3-1, Soldotna 3-1 and Kodiak 3-0.

“We had to fight through the bracket,” Oxspring said. “They came back and rallied from the get-go. It’s hard to have to come back and beat every single team in our region.”

Colony, undefeated in conference play during the regular season, was the top seed. The Knights moved into the region final with wins over Soldotna and Kodiak.

Wasilla’s 3-1 win over Colony in the best-of-5 title match forced the if-necessary game in the double-elimination tournament.

Wasilla and Colony are both moving on to the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships, which start Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

The Warriors open against West Anchorage Thursday at 11:45 a.m. Colony meets Thunder Mountain Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.