The Haines volleyball team defeated the Petersburg Vikings in five games at a Metlakatla tournament on Saturday, the Glacier Bears’ first win of the season.
The Bears started off the game strong, with senior Willow Oakley delivering a hard spike the Vikings could not defend. Haines kept the momentum, with junior Malia Jorgenson-Geise scoring off a serve.
The Bears and Vikings stayed within one point of each other for the first set. The teams were tied at 22. The Vikings then scored two points straight. The Vikings won the set with a spike.
The Vikings started the second set with five consecutive points. The Bears came back to tie the set at 7. Haines took their first lead of the set after Oakley delivered a powerful serve. The Bears went up 24-22 after a hard spike from Oakley. The Bears then won the set with a serve from Jorgenson-Geise.
The Bears fell behind the Vikings in the third set. They were down 11-20 when coach Hailey Sanders called a timeout. Senior Natalie Jobbins said Sanders told the girls to relax. “Coach was mostly just telling us to relax and to not worry about everything,” recalled Jobbins. “We needed to pull ourselves out of the hole.” The Vikings won the third set by eight points.
The Bears needed to win the fourth set to give them a chance to win the match. The game was tied at 9 when Sanders called another timeout. Jobbins said Sanders told the girls to focus and build each other up. “The major thing she reminded us was to stop making stupid errors,” said Jobbins. “She also said we needed to continue cheering each other on, instead of putting each other down.”
The Bears went down 13-17, but gained momentum when Oakley delivered another hard spike. The Bears then scored five points. The Bears won the fourth set after Oakley’s serve was undefended.
The fifth set went back and forth. The Bears and Vikings stayed within three points of one another. The Bears took their first lead of the set after Oakley blocked a Vikings’ spike. The Bears then went up 14-10. They only needed one more point to win the game. Junior MacKenzy Dryden bumped the volleyball to Jobbins, who set it to junior Avari Getchell, who spiked it over the net. The Vikings could not defend the spike, and the Bears won the match.
“I was honestly just so excited for my team,” said Getchell about her winning play. “As soon as I saw Natalie Jobbins set the ball to the middle, I just really wanted to make a play that would help our team out.”
The Bears lost to Wrangell, Craig, Metlakatla, and Skagway prior to the win over Petersburg. Oakley said the win over Petersburg was a good reminder of what the team is capable of. “It was nice to have a win to come back to Haines with,” said Oakley. “I think it really gave the team what we needed to be able to continue the winning streak for our next tournament.”
Sanders said the team improves with each set they play. She said the team has been working on serving and recovering from errors. Sanders said she is very proud of how the team is playing with high intensity.
“Everyone is cheering and invested in the game,” said Sanders. “That is the reason we won that fifth set match against Petersburg. Every athlete was invested and passionate about winning every single point.”
Sanders said the team will be working on trusting each other in future practices. She said this will increase their team chemistry and help them win more games.
The junior varsity will be traveling to Skagway for a tournament this weekend. The regional meet will be held in Haines Nov. 18-20. The top two teams will qualify for the state tournament.