The Haines varsity volleyball team had a jam-packed weekend in Juneau, and topped 4A Thunder Mountain to win the Silver bracket championship.
Assistant coach Liana Shull said the Silver title is equivalent to third place in last weekend’s tournament that drew entries from across the state. Teams were put into brackets following pool play.
“We have a lot of solid players,” Shull said. “It’s kind of a coach’s dream, but it’s also difficult to decide who gets to play, but it’s good that you have a lot of options.”
Coach Judy Erekson said the girls “played 18 games in 16 hours of gym time, with 10 wins and eight losses.”
The Glacier Bears had two-game match-ups with several schools. They split with Thunder Mountain, lost to eventual tournament champion Palmer and Mount Edgecumbe, split with Wrangell, defeated Cordova, lost to Thunder Mountain, and defeated Ketchikan and Cordova. Haines then closed out the tournament with a 25-16, 25-16 win over Thunder Mountain.
Haines lost senior Elizabeth Stevens early in the tournament due to injury, forcing some changes in strategy.
“We experimented with different lineups, had the girls pick what they thought would work and switched our setters around a few times,” Erekson said. “The girls did well in adapting to sudden changes, and it’s a luxury to have such an option this year.”
Junior Alisha Young made the all-tournament team for Haines. Erekson said Young was “on fire the whole tournament” playing an almost unrecognizable brand of volleyball.
“She would hit that ball, ‘Kaboom,’ and we would shout from the bench, ‘Who are you?’” Erekson said.
Young said she wasn’t intimidated by the large-school competition.
“My timing just got down and I was jumping higher,” she said.
Young said the fast-paced play helped her “learn a lot of new things,” and she is proud of her team’s performance.
The Glacier Bears faced Thunder Mountain again on Wednesday and will play the Juneau squad at home Thursday night, Oct. 13. Both teams then will travel to Whitehorse for a weekend tournament.