Set for state
By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Monday, November 9, 2009 8:35 PM AKST
PALMER — While the Palmer Moose will know a bit about their first-round opponent, Colony’s draw will be somewhat of a mystery when both Mat-Su teams hit the court for the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships at West Anchorage High School on Thursday.
The Moose, who beat Colony 3-1 in the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Wasilla High School last Saturday, face Dimond Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
Colony meets Southeast Conference champion Juneau-Douglas Thursday at 2 p.m.
It’s been only about two weeks since Dimond handed a 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23) loss. Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds said the familiarity is nice, but regardless of how well a team knows its opponent, the players still have to execute.
“You still have to come out and perform,” Reynolds said. “You can have all the game plans in the world, but you still have to execute.”
Palmer played Dimond (14-4 overall, 11-3 in the Cook Inlet Conference) tough during the regular-season meeting. The Moose took the first set 25-17, and came within two points of forcing a fifth game. Reynolds said he feels there’s certainly room for improvement.
“It wasn’t one of our best outings,” Reynolds said.
But take away that loss, and Reynolds can see a very successful second half of the 2009 season. After early-season struggles, and a stretch of matches that includes losses to Valley rivals Colony and Wasilla, the Moose surged.
The Moose steadily improved, and climbed into the second spot of the NLC North with wins over the Knights and Warriors.
Palmer also beat West Valley and Chugiak late in the season. West Valley is the Mid-Alaska Conference champion and Chugiak won the CIC.
Even after the Dimond loss, Reynolds said he wanted to stress to his players that they deserved to be on the same court as the top squads in the state.
“I wanted them to know they’re certainly capable,” Reynolds said. “They don’t have to play out of their minds to beat the top teams in the state.”
When Colony takes the court against Juneau, the Knights won’t know much about the Bears. But head coach Amy Carter knows Juneau is typically one of the better teams in the state every year.
“Juneau is always good,” Carter said.
Other than that, the Knight will be going in fresh.
Juneau did finish 10-2 overall and 6-0 in the Southest Conference, according to ASAA.
The Bears had to rebound in the double-elimination Region V Volleyball Championships at Mt. Edgecumbe High School last weekend.
The Bears fell to Ketchikan 3-2 in the first round of the Region V tourney, according to the Juneau Empire. But thanks to the unique format of the tourney, Juneau could use wins in consecutive matches to earn Region V’s lone berth to the state tourney.
Carter said the Knights usually see the Bears at some point during the seasons, but their paths did not cross this year. But without any preconceived notions coming in, Carter said it may benefit a Colony squad that has only two players with significant state tourney experience.
In addition to NLC rivals Palmer and Soldotna, Colony has also seen West Valley, Chugiak, Dimond and South this season.
The Knights swept West Valley in the Interior and played each of the Anchorage schools during regular-season tournaments.
Overall, like Reynolds, Carter is proud of the steady improvement of her team this season.
“I’m very pleased with where my team’s at,” Carter said. “especially when compared to where we were at in the beginning of the year.”
The steady progression of each program led to a meeting in the NLC final.
It marked the fourth time since 2003 that Palmer and Colony had met for the conference crown. The rivals also met in the 2003, 2004 and 2007 title matches. Palmer beat Colony 3-2 in 2003 and 2007. Colony swept Palmer 3-0 to win the 2004 NLC championship.
Palmer’s win on Saturday also marked the seventh straight season that Palmer or Colony had won the region title. Palmer won the championship in 2003, 2007 and 2009. Colony finished first in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.
This season also marks Palmer’s ninth trip to the state tourney in the last 10 years. Colony has advanced to the state event in each of the last seven seasons.
Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.
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