Saturday volleyball: Kenai, Seward claim conference wins

Published 9:30 pm Friday, September 12, 2025

The visiting Kenai Central volleyball team defeated Grace Christian 19-25, 25-14, 25-10 and 25-19 on Saturday in Southcentral Conference play.

The Kards move to 3-0 in the league and 3-1 in nontournament play.

Gracee Every had 17 assists and six aces for the Kardinals, while Sophie Tapley had 18 kills and nine aces.

Savannah Hershberger had 10 digs, while Sage Wilson had five kills and Bryleigh Williams had four kills.

“It was a fun weekend full of growth and challenges,” Kenai Central head coach Tracie Beck wrote in a text message. “Sophie Tapley is so reliable and Savannah and Brynnen (Hanson) were putting balls on target and Gracee Every dishes out treats to our hitters.”

The Kardinals will be at the Sitka Tournament from Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 18 to 20.

Palmer 3, Soldotna 2

The visiting Stars fell to 3-1 in the Northern Lights Conference and 6-1 in nontournament play with the Saturday loss. The scores were 25-16, 25-20, 24-26, 16-25 and 15-8.

Soldotna head coach Luke Baumer said the schedule has been stuffed with games early in the season.

“We’re exhausted,” he said. “The fact the girls are playing as hard as they are, and staying as mentally tough as they are, is really encouraging to see.

“We want to be that team that’s going to be mentally and physically strong and have our endurance by the end of the season.”

Playing without their star outside hitter due to injury, Baumer said Palmer cranked up the defense and that was the difference in the match.

He said the Stars also helped out the Moose with unforced errors made due to fatigue.

Samantha Piscoya had 30 digs and three aces for SoHi, while Teagen Kobylarz had 44 assists, Morgan Simac had 20 kills, Cassidy Kruse had 15 kills and four blocks, and Hayden Vidal had three aces.

The Stars host Nikiski at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16. The match is SoHi’s annual Dig Pink event.

The match raises money for Jaxon Thiemann, a former player for Skyview High School and University of Alaska Fairbanks who helped coach SoHi last season.

According to “Support Jaxon’s Fight Against Cancer” on gofundme.com, Thiemann was diagnosed with breast cancer on June 3. At an appointment two days later, Thiemann learned she was pregnant. A few weeks later, Thiemann learned the baby is a girl and has Down syndrome.

Seward 3, MCCA 1

The visiting Seahawks topped Mountain City Christian Academy to move to 2-2 in the Southcentral Conference and 2-2 overall.