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.
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