The Glacier Bears volleyball team overcame some opening night jitters, then handily beat Wrangell in two home matches last weekend.
The Haines girls worked through inconsistent setting, unforced errors and missed scoring opportunities Friday, before gaining the momentum in 14 varsity and junior varsity games.
“We weren’t using the ball when they gave it to us. We weren’t playing up to our level, we played down to the level of the other team.” said assistant coach Liana Shull.
The girls looked more confident Saturday, as Abby Jones made solid kills, Teolani Lynch dominated the net and Ashley Messerschmidt and Anna Jacobson picked up their hitting.
Elizabeth Stevens and Riley Erekson also advanced their skills as servers and hitters.
“They’re trying to develop what their level of play is. They’re learning their positions and how to play together,” Shull said.
A match this weekend in Sitka may show how far the team has come. Haines nearly beat the Wolves at last year’s regional competition
“It will be interesting to see how we match up against them this year,” Shull said. “Our girls are working on maintaining their focus the entire match and not letting a few mistakes become runs of points against them. When they lose a point, they need to be able to come back.”
In junior varsity games, serving by Erekson and Sam Lowe and outside hitting by Coral Bauer, helped Haines win all its games. Strong serving by Alicia Young and Brook Cinocco also were factors, Shull said.