Junior Sarah Long’s serving led the Glacier Bears to a come-from-behind win in the third game of a winning match against Metlakatla last weekend in Klawock.
Metlakatla defeated Haines earlier this year in volleyball, 2-0.
“It was great. We had Sarah serving (who normally doesn’t serve) and she rallied off eight straight points to pull us back from down 12-17 and put us ahead 20-12. We never really looked back after that,” said coach Keri Ewing.
Haines defeated Metlakatla 3-1 in the overall match.
The Glacier Bears played in a seven-team tournament featuring Klawock, Craig, Skagway, Petersburg, Metlakatla and Wrangell.
Haines also downed Skagway, 3-1. Like in the Metlakatla match, Haines lost the first game, but swept the following three games to earn the win. The Glacier Bears lost 0-3 each against Klawock, Wrangell, Craig and Petersburg.
Despite the losses, Haines currently sits at fifth place in the conference with a 2A Region 5 conference record of 2-4 and an overall record of 3-5.
Haines had only nine players at the Klawock tournament, so some new rotations were featured. Freshman Morgan Cloke played in both the front and backline, something new for her. Ewing praised her efforts and ability to fill in as needed.
Junior Brittney Bradford continued her strong defensive play at the net and earned the nickname “the wall of Bradford” for her ability to get her hands on the ball and disrupt the other team’s offensive attack.
One month into the season, Ewing assessed the team.
“Our coverage on defense has definitely picked up since the beginning of the season and that’s a testament to the work coach Alixanne Goodman has put in with the team. She’s been great. But it’s still a work in progress and is our biggest area that needs to improve. Especially with getting our hands on tipped balls,” he said.
The team’s next action is this weekend at home against Skagway. Senior offensive captain Jordan Stigen said she “wishes they had more home games the past few years.” But she is also “really stoked for this weekend because Skagway is a lot of fun to play and we usually play well against them.”
Senior Bozhi Sebens, the team’s defensive captain, agreed with Stigen and added, “it will be even more fun having our personal fans cheer us on.”
This weekend’s first match is 6:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s junior varsity match is at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 6 p.m.