Warriors stay alive in state volleyball tourney

The defending state champs are still alive.

Wasilla bounced back following a loss to South Anchorage Thursday night with consecutive wins on Friday, and the Warriors are a victory away from a return to the state title match.

Wasilla scored a 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 17-25, 25-22) win over Dimond Friday evening during elimination action in the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

The Warriors move forward to face Service Saturday at 11 a.m. The winner of that match plays South for the state title at 3 p.m.

The Warriors erased a 10-point deficit during the decisive fourth set against the Lynx. Dimond played to a 16-6 lead, but the Warriors used an 11-1 run to tie the score at 17. Seniors Layla Hays, Allison Devine and Mylee Anderson used big plays to help the Warriors cement the win. A Hays kill tied the set a 21. Devine had a kill and a block to give Wasilla a 23-22 lead. Anderson had kills on the final two points, including dumping the ball over the net to give Wasilla the 25-22 win.

Earlier in the day, Wasilla swept Northern Lights Conference rival Soldotna 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-18).

South knocked Wasilla into the consolation side of the double-elimination bracket with a 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-12, 21-25, 15-8) over the Warriors. Wasilla opened its state tourney play with a 3-1 (17-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-20) victory over Chugiak in the quarterfinals.

Wasilla won its second state title in program history with a 3-0 win over East Anchorage in 2023.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.