The Haines volleyball team went undefeated against the Skagway Panthers on Nov. 5-6. On the first night, they defeated Skagway 3-0. On the second day, they won 3-1.
Senior Natalie Jobbins started the first game with a strong serve that led to the first point of the set. Senior Willow Oakley then scored five straight points off of serves before the Skagway team called a timeout. Oakley helped the team lead the set 12-6.
“It felt good to be able to do a jump serve again,” said Oakley about her serving streak. “I had stopped doing it for the last couple of tournaments, but I felt I had worked on it enough in practice to actually do it in a game. It felt good to be able to show my progress.”
Haines won the first set 25-13, after junior Avari Getchell’s serve went undefended.
The Bears started off the second set with four straight points. Haines kept a steady lead ahead of Skagway and won the set by 11 points after a hard spike from Oakley.
Skagway started the third set strong and quickly went up 8-4. Haines then scored seven straight points. The Bears kept their momentum and won the set. Haines won the match in three straight sets.
On Saturday, the Panthers went up 10-3 in the first set. Haines came back to tie the set at 16. Haines won the first set 25-17.
The Bears then won a close second set after Skagway bumped the ball out of bounds.
The teams stayed within two points of each other for the whole third set. The set was tied at 20. Skagway gained momentum to win the third set 25-22.
The teams traded leads throughout the beginning of the fourth set. Haines gained momentum and went up 20-12. Skagway then came back to draft by only three points. Senior Kiersten Long then delivered a hard spike to help the team win the set 25-21. The Bears won the match 3-1.
The games against Skagway were the last games for Haines before regionals. Regionals will be held in Haines from Nov. 18-20. Haines does not know their seed number yet. The top two teams will qualify for state.
Jobbins said she is very excited to compete at regionals and to show the community how much the team has improved over the season.
Jobbins said the team will have to put in a lot of work to qualify for state, but that it’s possible. “I think because of our first seeding tournament, we might be a really low seed,” said Jobbins. “But, I think we can pull ourselves out of it because we’ve proven we can play really well. I think we have the possibility of going to state. If we can minimize our small errors and stay positive on the court, we can either win regionals or at least move on to state.”
On Friday, seniors Natalie Jobbins, Willow Oakley, and Kiersten Long were recognized. Coach Hailey Sanders gave short speeches about all three seniors.
Sanders thanked the seniors for their strong work ethic and positivity. She said she is thankful to have the honor of coaching them for their final year of high school.
Following Sanders’ speech, several juniors on the team also delivered speeches and gave the seniors gifts. The juniors also recognized Skagway’s two seniors and gave them flowers.
Malia Jorgenson-Geise and Grace Long-Godinez recognized Kiersten Long. The juniors thanked Long for her positive attitude and for always pushing the team.
Avari Getchell then recognized Willow Oakley. Getchell commented on how Oakley is a strong player with a powerful spike. Getchell said her arms are constantly sore from practicing with Oakley.
Long-Godinez and MacKenzy Dryden recognized Natalie Jobbins. The girls highlighted how Jobbins always encourages the team to be strong, both athletically and academically. Dryden thanked Jobbins for being a wonderful person on and off the court.