Sports : Home court - Frontiersman
By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Monday, November 8, 2010 9:22 PM AKST
WASILLA — History has a funny way of repeating itself.
On Saturday, the Palmer Moose surprised top-seeded Wasilla in the final match of the Northern Lights championship to win the conference crown. Palmer’s road to the 2010 NLC title was somewhat similar to its path to a 2009 conference title. Much like this year, the Moose also upset a top seed en route to an NLC championship.
But that’s not where the similarities end.
Last season, Palmer opened play against defending state champion Dimond during the first day of the state tournament. And that’s exactly how the Moose will begin the 2010 tourney.
NLC champion Palmer will face 2010 Cook Inlet Conference runner-up and two-time defending state champion Dimond at 7:15 p.m., Thursday during the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Volleyball Championships at the Curtis. D. Menard II Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla.
When it comes to similarities, that’s where the Moose would like to see it end. Last year, Dimond edged Palmer 3-2 (25-17, 26-24, 21-25, 22-25, 15-9) in the first round, and the Lynx went on to beat Colony in the state title match.
Regardless, Palmer head coach Steve Reynolds likes the idea of a rematch with the Lynx.
“We’ve played them before, we’ve taken games from them,” Reynolds said Monday. “When we played Dimond last year, we went five and lost. We have enough girls on the team from last year, they’re already talking about how we need to take care of business.”
Palmer will be one of three Valley teams looking to take care of business Thursday. Wasilla, which suffered a 3-1 loss to the Moose in the conference title match, opens play against CIC champion South Anchorage at 5:30 p.m. Colony, the NLC No. 3 seed, faces Mid-Alaska Conference champ West Valley at 3:45 p.m.
Palmer upset a Wasilla team that was previously undefeated in conference play in the NLC title match. Reynolds said his team has steadily built confidence and momentum throughout the latter half of the season. An example of that is Palmer’s performance against Wasilla in the tourney.
During the regular season, the Moose dropped a pair of losses to Wasilla, including a quick 55-minute match on Palmer’s home court.
“We hadn’t done too well against Wasilla, but we still came in and played with confidence in regions,” Reynolds said.
He said he hopes that momentum can drive the Moose through the state tourney as well.
“Momentum is everything in volleyball,” Reynolds said. “Conversely, when things fall apart, things fall apart pretty badly. We always try to work on just leveling out those highs and lows.”
While Palmer will look to ride its momentum, Wasilla will attempt to get back on track when it opens against South Anchorage.
Wasilla’s Claudia Farias Pinard, the 2010 NLC Coach of the Year, said she has no doubt her team can rebound.
“We will come back, for sure,” Farias Pinard said Monday.
Farias Pinard was also not overly concerned about playing South, a squad that won three straight state titles from 2005-07.
“I don’t think any team in the tournament is better than another,” Farias Pinard said.
Wasilla cruised through the NLC regular season, beating most teams handily. The Warriors lone blemish on their regular season mark came in a nonconference loss to Grace Christian, a top 3A team in the state.
“I believe we have the potential to win,” Farias Pinard said.
Farias Pinard said she hopes her team can use that loss to Palmer to their advantage.
South swept Dimond in the CIC title match to earn the conference crown and remain undefeated in 2010.
Colony, which powered its way through the backside of conference bracket during the final day of the NLC tourney, opens with Mid-Alaska Conference champion West Valley.
The Wolfpack followed an undefeated season with a pair of wins during the MAC tourney at North Pole High School last weekend. West Valley swept fourth-seeded Houston and second-seeded North Pole in the tourney to improve to 15-0 overall.
West Valley also beat Colony during a regular season match at CHS in October.
In the NLC tournament, Colony rebounded from a semifinal loss to Wasilla and scored victories over Kodiak and Soldotna during the final day of the tourney. The Knights used the 3-0 sweep of the Stars in the tourney’s third-place match to earn the NLC’s final berth in the state event.
Colony, the 4A runner-up in 2007 and 2009 has not missed the state tourney since 2002.
Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com. Follow him at Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.
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