November 11, 2011

November 10, 2011

AVA Tryouts 2011

Tryout dates for AVA:

-Tues 15 Nov 6-8th gr 6-730pm, C team exp 730-9pm Wasilla AT&T sports Ctr
-Thur 17 Nov JV/Var exp 7-9pm @ Palmer Jr
Middle

Other dates if you cant make the first 2:

-Sun 6 Nov C team experience @ Eagle River HS 230-5pm COMPLETED
-Sun 13 Nov JV/Var exp @ Eagle River HS 230-5pm also HS makeup
-Sat 19 Nov Elem & 6th-8th gr @ Mirror Lake Middle 230-5pm

Tryout fee is $10

November 8, 2011

Sports : Palmer senior named NLC MVP - Frontiersman

Sports : Palmer senior named NLC MVP - Frontiersman
Palmer senior named NLC MVP
By JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Monday, November 7, 2011 8:05 PM AKST

PALMER — Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds admits he sometimes overlooks Palmer senior setter Jenna Arlow.

It’s nothing against Arlow, a three-year varsity player and two-year starter. Reynolds simply knows he doesn’t have to worry about the senior, who was named the Northern Lights Conference North Division Player of the Year Saturday night.

“As a coach you tend to focus on the glaring weaknesses, or the players who need the most help,” Reynolds said. “Sometimes we don’t spend enough time on the ones who are doing a nice job.”

Arlow is a primary reason why the Moose have been the top team in the NLC for the last three years. Saturday, she helped lead Palmer to its third straight NLC title.

Arlow is a leader, and among the top setters Reynolds has coached, he said.

“She’s just the quiet, confident type,” Reynolds said. “She has wonderful hands. She’s a great setter, and has been since she was in junior high.”

Reynolds said Arlow’s serve is also a strength.

“She’s had a tough serve for years. She gives people troubles,” Reynolds said. “One thing that goes unnoticed a lot is if you serve tough, even if you’re not getting aces, you’re keeping the other team back on their heels. That’s huge.”

Arlow is one of a pair of Valley players and five Mat-Su athletes to be named first-team All-Northern Lights Conference.

Palmer senior Morgan Morfe, Colony junior Mary Klapperich and Wasilla seniors Haley Taylor and Jolee Fife were also named on the first team.

Wasilla senior Kayla Bell, Colony junior Allison Leigh and Palmer junior Lily Cullers were also named to the second team.

Reynolds was named the NLC Coach of the Year for the third time in his 12 years as the Moose mentor.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

All-Northern Lights Conference

North Division Player of Year:

Jenna Arlow, Palmer

South Division Player of Year:

Amanda McDowell, Skyview

Coach of the Year:

Steve Reynolds, Palmer.

First-team All-NLC:

Carole Lampl, Kodiak; Jenna Arlow, Palmer; Haley Taylor, Wasilla; Amanda McDowell, Skyview; Kallee Skjold, Soldotna; Jolee Fife, Wasilla; Kylee Woodford, Soldotna; Mary Klapperich, Colony; Hannah Wandersee, Kodiak; Morgan Morfe, Palmer.

Second-team All-NLC:

Marlee Cunningham, Skyview; Lauren Cashman, Homer; Kayla Bell, Wasilla; Britanie Whipple, Skyview; Brooke DeVaney, Homer; Mary Hauptman, Skyview; Heidi Westernman, Soldotna; Allison Leigh, Colony; Monya Wandersee, Kodiak; Lily Cullers, Palmer.

November 6, 2011

Sports : Inspired Moose rally to beat rival to move into final - Frontiersman

Sports : Inspired Moose rally to beat rival to move into final - Frontiersman

Inspired Moose rally to beat rival to move into final
By JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Sunday, November 6, 2011 12:15 AM AKDT

PALMER — Before hitting the hardwood for its semifinal date with rival Wasilla, the Palmer volleyball team watched the film “Glory Road,” as a team.

It’s a basketball movie — a true story about Texas Western College’s bumpy road to a 1966 NCAA championship —but when the Moose faced their own adversity, the Palmer players looked to the sports flick for inspiration.

Palmer, sitting in a two-game hole, battled back to score a 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14) win over the Warriors during the Northern Lights Conference Volleyball Championships semifinals at Colony High on Friday.

“Before the game we watched ‘Glory Road’, the basketball movie, to pump up ourselves,” Palmer senior Morgan Morfe said. “We were like ‘Glory Road’, we can do it, we can push through.”

Palmer used wins during the final three sets to pave its own glory road to the conference championship match, where the Moose scored a 3-0 win over Kodiak to win its third straight conference title.

The Moose played their way down that road, thanks in part to the flawless hitting of senior Kalene Smith and back row play of Morfe and libero Lily Cullers.

But during the first two games of the match, the Moose were teetering on disaster as the Warriors were stellar.

Wasilla hitters Sariah Tuisaula, Haley Taylor and Jolee Fife powered the Warriors through Game 1, and Leah Taylor served three aces to help the Warriors launch to a seemingly crippling 13-1 lead in Game 2.

But as the Warriors smelled sweep and the Moose feared the worst, Palmer chipped away at the advantage and the momentum.

“I think initially everyone was terrified it was going to be some score like 25-3 and we were going to have to live with it,” Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds said. “It was just a matter of chipping away at it.”

Palmer used a 7-1 run to narrow the gap to 14-8, and after a Haley Taylor kill gave Wasilla the 21-14 advantage, the Moose scored seven straight points to tie the score at 21.

Wasilla capped the game with a four-point run to win the set 25-21, but the Moose felt that rally was key to their victory.

“We would have been done, period,” Reynolds said, if the Moose didn’t come back in the second game. “I think if we would never have gotten that game respectable, we would have been done.”

Morfe said Reynolds also gave the Moose an added sense of confidence after that game.

“After the game our coach said whenever someone looks at the scorebook it will always say 25-21. Nobody will ever know you came back from 13-1,” Morfe said.

Morfe also said the Moose were confident in their ability to rally.

“One of our strengths is comebacks,” Morfe said. “After we lost those two games, it was like, hmmm, this is what we do best.”

Both teams used terrific defensive efforts to extend the match to five games.

Warrior stalwarts — such as Haley Taylor, Kayla Bell and Kayla Binggeli — helped Wasilla keep play alive on the back line. Morfe and Cullers helped the Moose combat Wasilla’s talented strikers.

“I thought their defense was good throughout the night,” Reynolds said. “Our defense, I felt, got better as the night went on.”

Cullers, a first-year varsity libero, led the Moose with 16 digs.

“I really commend Lily. She’s the best libero I’ve ever played with,” Morfe said. “She scraps for every single ball. I’m so proud of her. She owned the court.”

Smith enjoyed a career night on the front line for Palmer, finishing with 14 kills and no hitting errors.

“She’s a senior. She’s smart and she sees things,” Reynolds said. “Without checking stats, that’s probably her best night ever.”

Smith scored the final kill of the night, placing a ball in a hole of the middle of the Wasilla defense. Smith used similar plays to score a handful of points throughout the night.

“She’s the queen of tipping,” Morfe said.

Tuisaula led the Warriors with 20 kills in the loss. Haley Tayler added 19 kills and a match-high 31 digs. Leah Taylor had 21 digs, and Taylor Steiner added 13 digs.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Sports : SWEET 3-PEAT - Frontiersman

Sports : SWEET 3-PEAT - Frontiersman


SWEET 3-PEAT
By JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Sunday, November 6, 2011 12:15 AM AKDT

PALMER — The Palmer Moose needed only three games to net the three-peat.

The Moose swept Kodiak 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-19) to win their third straight conference crown during the final match of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Colony High School Saturday evening.

Senior setter Jenna Arlow, who was named the NLC North Division Most Valuable Player after the match, collected 23 assists to help Palmer notch the three-peat and win its fourth conference championship in five seasons.

“The past three years, winning three in a row is something to enjoy,” Arlow said as she held her MVP plaque after the match. “I’m so proud of my team. Everybody was working really hard.”

Palmer scored the quick three-set win in a match many thought could see five games. The Moose rallied to edge rival Wasilla in a five-game semifinal match on Friday. Kodiak also needed five games to get past Colony in the other semi.

Palmer and Kodiak also played a pair of tough matches during the final weekend of the regular season.

“I definitely was expecting to go long again,” said Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds, who was named the NLC Coach of the Year for the third time in his 12 years as the Moose mentor. “We had a four-game match against them on our senior night and a five-game match the next day.”

The Moose and Bears played a tight first game. Kodiak was able to take a six-point lead on a Manya Wandersee kill midway through the first. But after Wandersee gave Kodiak the 12-6 lead, Palmer used a 10-4 run to tie the game at 16.

“We definitely expected Kodiak to be a big threat,” Arlow said. “We had to go out there and work hard right away.”

The Moose were able to grab momentum late the Game 1, and hold it throughout the match. Reynolds, who was doused with bottles of water during a post-match celebration, credited his team’s serving.

“We served tough, kept them off-balance,” Reynolds said. “We had leads, not big leads. But when you’re serving tough and getting a little bit of a lead, you can play more relaxed.”

Arlow finished with three aces in the match. But more than the aces, the overall quality of his players’ serves impressed Reynolds.

Arlow recorded two of her aces during an eight-point run that capped Palmer’s 25-11 win in Game 2. Sophomore Macey Buresh served seven straight points midway through the second game.

That stretch was key for Palmer. The Moose were locked in a 5-5 tie with Kodiak before Buresh hit the service line.

In the third, Buresh served another six straight points to push a one-point Palmer advantage to a 21-14 lead.

“Macey had big strings of points,” Reynolds said of the sophomore. “She looked like a veteran tonight.”

Buresh is one of three sophomores who see ample playing time for the Moose. Sophomores Brecken Riekena and Elliot Perkins have also been key to the success.

“Every time they go out there, they’re giving 100 percent,” Arlow said of the underclassmen. “They never act scared.”

Reynolds was also proud of a pair of seniors, Kalene Smith and Kasara Brandenburg, who help lead the Moose attack.

Smith had a match-high nine kills and finished with 23 kills and just two errors during the final two matches of the tournament.

“She had a great tournament,” Reynolds said.

Brandenburg also stood out, getting many of her eight kills as the Moose tried to seal the sweep.

“I was super excited about her especially,” Reynolds said of the senior hitter. “I enjoyed that with the seniors in there, taking care of business.”

Both Palmer and Kodiak earned state tournament berths by advancing to the finals, and will start state tourney play Thursday at the Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla. The Wasilla Warriors also advanced to the state tourney by finishing third in the NLC event.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

All-Northern Lights Conference

North Division Player of Year: Jenna Arlow, Palmer

South Division Player of Year: Amanda McDowell, Skyview

Coach of the Year: Steve Reynolds, Palmer.

First-team All-NLC:

Carole Lampl, Kodiak; Jenna Arlow, Palmer; Haley Taylor, Wasilla; Amanda McDowell, Skyview; Kallee Skjold, Soldotna; Jolee Fife, Wasilla; Kylee Woodford, Soldotna; Mary Klapperich, Colony; Hannah Wandersee, Kodiak; Morgan Morfe, Palmer.

Second-team All-NLC:

Marlee Cunningham, Skyview; Lauren Cashman, Homer; Kayla Bell, Wasilla; Britanie Whipple, Skyview; Brooke DeVaney, Homer; Mary Hauptman, Skyview; Heidi Westernman, Soldotna; Allison Leigh, Colony; Tonya Wandersee, Kodiak; Lily Cullers, Palmer.

November 5, 2011

Yay!

Congratulations to the varsity team for winning regions this year!

November 4, 2011

Tonight Palmer plays Wasilla @ 5:00 for the semi final round of regions at Colony High School.

See you there!

November 1, 2011

Regions @ Colony

Make sure to head over to Colony to watch varsity at their regional tournament!

First game is Thursday @ 5:00 vs Kenai.
"Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game."
Michael Jordan




Volleyball Gifts