Warriors edge Knights, win NLC title

PALMER — Following top-seeded Wasilla’s loss to rival Colony on the first day of the region tournament, head coach Katie Oxspring told her players, there’s no where to go but up.

The Warriors needed tough wins over Palmer, Soldotna and Colony within about a 24-hour span, but in the end, it was the Warriors who were left standing at the top of the Northern Lights Conference.

Wasilla edged Colony 30-28 in the if necessary tiebreaker in the double elimination bracket to win the 2018 region crown during the final day of the NLC Championships Saturday afternoon at Colony High School.

“I said at the beginning, it’s going to be an uphill battle, so I wanted them to keep moving uphill,” Oxspring said. “Keep moving forward.”

Wasilla junior Emily Cizek said the Warriors followed the advice of their head coach, and that was key to the victory.

“Our coach really puts in our heads the don’t give up mentality,” Cizek said. “We look to her a lot, and it really helps us so we don’t give up ever.”

Oxspring said that was particularly key as Wasilla hit the court for final game against Colony.

“Colony will not roll over. We will not roll over. We’re going to have to fight until the very end,” Oxspring said.

The Warriors also had to get past a Colony team that led for nearly the entire final game.

Early in the tiebreaker, Wasilla used a Cheyenne Green kill to take a 2-1 lead. After Colony took a 3-2 lead, the Knights held the advantage until the final points of the game. The Knights pushed their advantage to five points a three different times in the game. But Wasilla stuck around. After tying the game at 28, junior Kamryn Broach and Mackenzie Cizek collected consecutive kills to give the Warriors the 30-28 victory.

“I think we were all expecting a real close game, and we’re all really happy we pulled it off at the end,” Emily Cizek said.

Oxspring said she is “beyond proud” of her players.

“They really showed who they are,” Oxspring said. “I couldn’t believe how much they fought back and didn’t give up on themselves. It shows who they are as athletes and they’re character.”

Wasilla needed a win over a surging Colony program to set up the if-necessary game in the double-elimination tourney. The Warriors swept Colony 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-23) in the championship match. Oxspring said it was certainly not a typical sweep.

“It was hard fought. We might have won, but both teams were playing really hard,” Oxspring said.

Colony entered the tournament as the fifth-seed, but cruised through the first two days of the tournament. The Knights swept Kodiak, Wasilla and Soldotna, and didn’t lose a game until the Warriors edged Colony 25-22 in the first game of Saturday’s championship match.

After falling to the Knights Thursday, Wasilla needed a 3-1 win over Palmer and 3-2 victory over SoHi on Friday to work back into the championship match.

Following the championship match, Oxspring was named NLC Coach of the Year during the award ceremony. Broach, a Wasilla junior, and Colony senior Isabel List both earned Co-Player of the Year honors.

Cizek and Wasilla teammate Kaitlyn Cook were named first-team all-conference. Palmer’s Kristen Beams and Kelsey Giese also garnered first-team honors.

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

All-Northern Lights Conference

Co-Player of the Year: Kamryn Broach, Wasilla; Isabel List, Colony

Coach of the Year: Katie Oxspring, Wasilla

First team:

Aliann Schmidt, Soldotna; Emily Cizek, Wasilla; Kristen Beams, Palmer; Holleigh Jaime, Soldotna; Kaitlyn Cook, Wasilla; Kyla Nocon, Kodiak; Kelsey Giese, Palmer; Ituau Tuisaula, Soldotna.

Second team:

Cheyenne Green, Wasilla; Meagan Grogan, Palmer; Katie Banks, Kodiak; Kathryn Carstens, Kodiak; Bailey Leach, Soldotna; Kateleen, Sofranes, Kodiak; Jada Schultz, Colony; Heidi Brewer, Wasilla; Mackenzie Cizek, Wasilla.

Good sport team:

Brittani Blossom, Soldotna; Lauren Wadsworth, Wasilla; Katie Banks, Kodiak; Dayton Gateweood, Palmer; Emily Link, Colony.