The Haines High School volleyball team wrapped up its season last weekend with two losses at the Region V tournament in Skagway.
Coach Cassie Miller said there were no easy matches for the Glacier Bears at the double-elimination, best three out of five games tournament.
“Craig took second and Klawock took third, so the games were pretty tough but the girls stepped up their level of play to match our competition,” Miller said.
The top two teams in the region advanced to the state tournament. Petersburg won the Southeast title.
Miller said Haines had to rally after an injury to sophomore Brittney Bradford, one of the team’s strong hitters. That forced the Glacier Bears to change their rotation, she said. “Even with that, they played very well together and led the first half of the games against Klawock.”
Senior Bailey Stuart earned an All-Academic award, and fellow senior Nattaphon “Ice” Wangyot and junior Bozhi Sebens received Good Sport awards.
“This season was another learning year for the team, and we definitely improved,” Stuart said. “It’s sad to leave the team this year, but I have high hopes for the team next year.”
The Glacier Bears earlier this month competed at a Wrangell tournament. Haines lost to Craig, Metlakatla, Petersburg, Skagway and Wrangell. Klawock did not have a full team and forfeited its matches.
“The length of matches was a big factor in this for our girls,” coach Miller said. “They tend to play better the longer that they are on the court, so for the matches only being best two out of three was a big challenge for us.”
The team this season also hosted a kids’ carnival on Halloween at the Haines School to help raise funds to attend a summer volleyball camp in Anchorage.
The carnival occurred during a break in the Glacier Bears’ schedule, following three consecutive weekends of tournaments that concluded in Juneau with losses to Klawock, Mount Edgecumbe, Petersburg, Sitka and Thunder Mountain.
“This being a rebuilding year, I felt the girls did well, regardless of scores,” Miller said. “They played hard and showed a lot of heart. We traveled with only eight players (that) week and had to learn a new rotation during the games, which is a tough task in itself.”
Even though the season is over, the team already is preparing for next year, she said.
“The girls will be periodically doing off-season fundraisers, such as childcare during basketball games, to go to camp this summer,” Miller said.