The visiting Soldotna volleyball team defeated Homer 25-18, 16-25, 21-25, 25-22 and 15-12 in nonconference action Saturday night.
The Stars, a Class 4A school, improve to 2-2, while the Mariners, a Class 3A school, are 0-4 overall.
Soldotna coach Luke Baumer said his team showed some resilience in winning in five sets after losing in five sets at Nikiski on Thursday night.
“We got some of that Nikiski magic tonight,” Baumer said. “It was nice to be able to pull that one out.”
The SoHi coach said the serve of Homer’s Rebecca Trowbridge was a huge factor in the match.
“She had a wicked float serve going at least 38 miles per hour,” Baumer said. “It had no spin, it crossed low to the net, and it was hard to pass.”
The coach said those serves were the difference in Game 2.
He said Homer showed a lot of fight all night, and the Stars hurt themselves with 19 missed serves.
“We’re going to be going back to dialing in our serving,” Baumer said.
Kiara Forkner had 19 digs for SoHi, while Hallie Fischer had eight kills, Sadie Lane had five kills and six aces, Abygale Schaeffer had five kills and Sarah Brown had 23 assists.
Baumer said it took the whole bench to pull out the match, because the coach was subbing liberally when he felt the chemistry was off. He said Delaney Smith came in as the right back defensive specialist in Game 4 and got five digs in two sets, which is a lot for that position.
For Homer, Caitlyn Rogers had four aces, Rebecca Trowbridge had 28 assists and seven digs, and Gracie Miotka had 14 kills.
Homer coach Ian Overson said in a text message that his team is playing better and better. He said the Mariners stuck together as a team in some long rallies.
Seward wins North South Tourney
The Seward volleyball team won the North South Tournament at Houston on Friday and Saturday.
The Seahawks defeated Houston 25-18, 25-16 and 25-19. In the semifinals, Seward had defeated Mountain City Christian Academy 25-12 and 25-7.
In a text message, Seward coach Jodi Kurtz said that the whole team is responsible for the title.
“They all fought hard and deserved the first place trophy,” Kurtz wrote.
For Seward, MiKinley Williams was named MVP of the tournament, while Robin Cronin and Jordan Hartman also made all-tournament.
“Our serving was on point,” Kurtz wrote. “We played amazing defense. Our blocking is better than it ever has been. And we have amazing aggressive attackers playing front row.”
Kurtz wrote Kyana Hutchinson, on outside hitter, had a great all-around tournament, even serving as the team’s defensive communicator. Also, middle hitter Teyla Ramsey played smart and did good spot serving.
Kurtz wrote Ava Jagielski and Makena DesErmia are improving as right side attackers, while libero Olivia Jones helped the Seahawks with her happy attitude.
“I see all of us improving more throughout the season and games are going to be good,” Kurtz wrote. “The girls have a goal and I believe they will accomplish it as they are driven and focused on what they want. And that is to go back to state.”
Friday, Seward had played in a round-robin tournament against the other teams at the tournament to determine seeding for Saturday’s bracket.
The Seahawks went 6-1 against Houston, Redington, Nome, Grace Christian, Delta Junction, MCCA and Palmer JV. Redington also went 6-1, but Seward topped Redington and had the top seed for Saturday.
