Warriors win NLC volleyball title

The Wasilla Warriors swept their way through the tournament en route to another region title.

Wasilla beat Soldotna 3-0 in the championship match of the Northern Lights Conference Championships volleyball tournament Saturday at Kodiak High School in Kodiak.

It’s the second straight region crown for the Warriors, who edged rival Colony in the 2022 final. The Warriors needed to beat both of their Valley rivals to earn a spot in the championship match. Wasilla beat Palmer 3-0 and followed with a 3-0 win over Colony.

Wasilla finished the regular season 8-0 and was the top seed in the NLC tourney.

Wasilla now moves on to the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships, which starts Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

The Warriors open against Dimond, the No. 2 seed from the Cook Inlet Conference, Thursday at 1:30 p.m. With a win, the Warriors would play the winner of the Thunder Mountain-South Anchorage match.

Wasilla is the lone Valley team in the tournament,

Wasilla senior standout Rylee Pitney was named the NLC Player of the Year. Wasilla’s Katie Oxsping earned NLC Coach of the Year honors.

Wasilla’s Layla Hays, Mylee Anderson and Allison Devine; Palmer’s Khloe Ivey and Audrey Cahill; and Colony’s Maria Bunch were named first-team All-NLC. Colony’s Brooke Hindman, Malia Matthews, Kiara Johnson and Kendall Ketchum were named to the second team.

In the 3A Southcentral, Houston’s Grace Gillespie and Dallas Winter were named first-team all-conference. Houston’s Alycen Hunter and Andi Robson, and Redington’s Fedora Konev and Ashlynn Warner were named to the second team.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.