Warriors edge Moose in 5-game thriller

WASILLA — It was a heavily anticipated matchup between undefeated Northern Lights Conference heavyweights and a pair of Mat-Su Valley rivals did not disappoint.

Wasilla needed five games to edge Palmer 3-2 (25-14, 17-25, 25-14, 16-25, 15-13) at Wasilla High School on Tuesday.

Wasilla, which improved to 7-0 with the win, stayed undefeated after slipping away with the minimum margin of victory, two points, during the final set. Second-year head coach Claudia Farias-Pinard sad she knew her players had it in them.

“They had big hearts. They wanted it more,” Farias-Pinard said of the Warriors, who stand as the lone undefeated team in the NLC.

Palmer, which dropped to 4-1 with the loss, came into the match ready to try to stop Wasilla’s standout outside hitters, senior Aryn Crane and junior Sariah Tuisaula, Palmer junior setter Jenna Arlow said.

“We were trying to keep the ball away from Aryn and Sariah. Not just on serves but on our hits, too,” Arlow said.

Palmer also combated the offense of Crane and Tuisaula with a special blocking attack.

“We worked on it all day in practice,” Arlow said.

Despite the game plan scripted by Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds, the Warrior hitters stuffed the statistic sheet. Tuisaula finished with a team-high 15 kills. Crane chipped in 12 kills to go along with her 10 aces.

Arlow, with all of her 5-foot-5 frame finished with five blocks. Palmer’s more traditional blockers — Rebecca Stella, Kasara Brandenburg, Sarah Scoresby and Jessica Dennis — all hitters of the taller variety, hassled Wasilla’s hitters throughout the match.

“We just had to go out there and make an adjustment,” Farias-Pinard said of the Moose defense.

Momentum swung rapidly in the match. Wasilla started the first game with a strong performance, then quickly lost rhythm in the second game.

The second game featured an interesting call in which three points were subtracted from Wasilla’s score because of a rotation call. After two breaks of about five minutes while the officials determined the call, play resumed, but the momentum had switched sides.

Arlow and Anna Keohn each used that momentum to serve for streaks of 6 points, winning the game 25-17.

The energy moved back to Wasilla in the third game, behind the big hits of Crane, who finished the third game with 6 of her 12 kills. After going back and forth throughout the game, Crane served to pick up the rhythm of Wasilla’s play and finish out the game.

In the fourth game the Warriors seemed to fall apart. Brandenburg took full advantage of that for the Moose, picking up errant Wasilla digs at the net.

The momentum in the final game swung with each point. Brandenburg and senior Kendal Venzke helped pick up the visiting Palmer crowd, but Crane proved too much for the Moose, capping the game with one of her match-high 10 aces.

Both teams are now headed for the West Spiketacular, an annual two-day event that starts today at West Anchorage High School.

Reynolds cited a specific goal the Moose will strive for as they prepare for the tournament.

“We need to work on the team concept.” Reynolds said.

Tim Rockey is a senior at Palmer High School who contributes to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman schools and sports sections.