When Haines High School hosts the Region V volleyball tournament this weekend, coach Gina Randles-Comstock expects her players will be better prepared than they were on a recent trip to Craig.
“We arrived late, because our flight got delayed, and we ended up not eating properly,” she said. “We lost every game, but, the second day, when we were properly fed and had good sleep and everything, I’ve never seen the girls play that well.”
Haines won’t face those same travel woes this weekend, as the Glacier Bears welcome teams from Craig, Klawock, Metlakatla, Skagway and Wrangell.
“I even used it as a teaching moment: this is the difference with good sleep and food and water,” Randles-Comstock said of the mid-November Craig experience.
The Region V tournament opens with a 12:30 p.m. Friday match-up of Haines against Metlakatla and continues through Saturday evening. Randles-Comstock this week said the official schedule likely would be available on Thursday (Dec. 4).
Teams will be competing for the two Southeast berths at the state volleyball tournament in Anchorage.
“We have home court advantage,” Randles-Comstock said. “We’re going to have people in the stands, cheering us on, and that always pumps us up.”
The Glacier Bear lineup for this weekend includes juniors Corinna Hill and Bailey Stuart, sophomores Jordan Stigen and Olivia Wing, and freshmen Sarah Long and Saldie Wilson.
“Even though we’re a small team, I think we’re going to do well, as long as we work as a team,” Wing said. “I’m really proud of the girls that stuck through it and have stayed with it.”
Wing said the Glacier Bear cheering section has been tiny this season, and she’s looking forward to a change of pace.
“It’s really nice, because we’ll be able to have our people here and our families and friends to be able to support us,” she said. “Having such a small team is hard on trips away, because there are not many girls on the bench to support us, so it will be nice to have family and friends here.”
Randles-Comstock noted eighth-grader Tailer Olsson has been a mainstay at practices throughout the season and, with no seniors on the team, Haines can build on this year.
The tournament admission fee is $3 per session, or $5 for a day pass. A Friday night coaches’ game is open to community participation, and others seeking to get involved can make sure the visitors are properly fed.
“We do need people to make food for the coaches and chaperones,” Randles-Comstock said. “Any sort of food that people are willing to bring in for the hospitality room would be greatly appreciated.”