The Kenai Central High School varsity volleyball team brought home the Class 3A state title following a 3-2 victory against Nikiski in the final championship bracket of the Alaska School Activities Association 3A/4A Volleyball State Championships, held Nov. 13-15 in Anchorage.
This is the third state championship title that the Kards have brought home in the past four years. KCHS Athletic Director Jesse Settlemyer on Wednesday called it “a great achievement for our volleyball program.”
“I think it says a lot about our program and our coaching staff, including our head coach, Tracy Beck, and the type of program she’s put together here,” he said.
The Kards defeated Sitka in three sets in the championship quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 13 — 25-19, 25-21 and 25-21 — before facing off against Valdez in round 2 later that day. Kenai topped Valdez 3-2 in a five-set game, losing 12-25 and 17-25 in the first two sets before making a comeback in the final three, scoring 25-22, 25-20 and 15-11.
Kenai defeated Nikiski 3-1 in the semifinals on Friday, scoring 25-15, 25-19, 15-25 and 25-22. Nikiski faced off against Valdez in a consolation game Saturday morning, winning the match 3-2. Finally, the state championship match arrived Saturday afternoon.
Settlemyer called the championship game a “rematch” against Nikiski, who took the state title last year after defeating Kenai in three sets in the final game.
This year, the battle between Kenai and Nikiski went to five sets, with the Bulldogs winning the first two sets before Kenai’s sweeping triumph in the final three.
“It says a lot about our athletes and their commitment to volleyball,” Settlemyer said. “We’re really proud of their accomplishments.”
He added that it was also really exciting to watch his daughter, freshman and outside hitter Mia Settlemyer, play in the state tourney as part of the Kenai varsity team.
Beck said that last weekend’s tournament was the “strongest state competition” she’s seen in years. The Kards played “uptight” in the first two sets against Nikiski, but by the third, she said they were “finally competing” and overcame their stress.
Kenai’s victory also came after an “interesting” year riddled with challenges for the team, including multiple players experiencing injuries.
“I don’t remember a season quite like this one. It’s a crazy year when you’re taking lumps all the way along and having to problem-solve and adapt,” she said. “The girls adapted really well. They kept showing up and fighting hard and continued to grow. It’s so empowering to watch them — that part as head coach is so exciting, to continue to be able to watch players develop.”
In addition to being the 2025 3A state champions, several Kenai players also earned special honors for their performances during the tournament. Junior Gracee Every, setter, was named Server of the Tournament and senior Sophie Tapley, also setter, was named Hitter of the Tournament.
Junior Savannah Hershberger, libero and defensive specialist, was selected to the All-Tournament Team alongside Tapley and Every.
A stacked bracket at state for SoHi
The Soldotna High School Stars competed in a stacked 4A state championship volleyball tournament in Anchorage last weekend. Despite facing two of the top ranked teams in the state and walking away without a win, head coach Luke Baumer said the team is focusing on the big picture — this was only the third time in the school’s history that the Stars have claimed the regional championship title.
Baumer said on Friday the team was apprehensive about the tournament because the Stars ended up in a bracket with three of the five top ranked schools in Alaska. The Alaska School Activities Association typically cycles the teams to keep all of the larger regions from ending up in the same bracket.
“Unfortunately, that’s what happened this season,” Baumer said. “It ended up being a really big battle no matter who we were going to play against. Whether we won or lost that first game, the next team we were going to play was either going to be the number two, or number one or number three team in the state. It was going to be a rough go.”
The quarterfinals pitted the Stars against the Service Cougars on Friday, Nov. 13. Although the Stars put up a good fight, the Cougars won in three sets.
During the consolation round Saturday, the Stars faced the South Anchorage Wolverines, ranked number one in the state. The Wolverines won in three sets and advanced to the second round, marking the end of the Stars’ season.
“We were digging it up and getting the ball up in the air, but then we were just kind of trying to save it and send it back over,” Baumer said. “It was giving them an easy ball to set up and put back down on us again.”
Although the girls were disappointed, Baumer said they were proud of what they had accomplished throughout the season. This is the first time the volleyball team has won a regional championship title since 2012, and the girls consistently put the needs of the team before their personal desires to do so.
“They trusted us as the coaching staff and they trusted each other,” Baumer said. “Whenever things didn’t go their way, they didn’t pout about it, or mope or let it affect the team. That was the biggest difference with them — they just had a really good attitude all the way through the season.”
Seven players are seniors, so next year’s team will look almost entirely different. Sophomore Gracelyn Altobelli and juniors Teagen Kobylarz, Cassidy Kruse, Samantha Piscoya and Rebekah Pieh will remain on the team. Baumer will continue to coach.
“I’m really proud of this group,” Baumer said. “This is such a talented and selfless group. You can’t win championships and go as far as this group has if you’re not willing to put the team first, and they’ve done that better than any team I’ve ever coached.”
This story was updated on Wednesday, Nov. 26 to reflect that this was not the first year since 2012 that the Soldotna High School volleyball team has advanced to the state championship tournament. A correction was also made to reflect that the Service High School mascot is a cougar, not a tiger.
Photo courtesy of the Kenai Volleyball Booster Club Kenai junior Sage Wilson (3) is named Player of the Match on Friday, Nov. 14, following the semifinal game against Nikiski during the 3A Volleyball State Championship Tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.
The Kenai Central High School varsity volleyball team holds up the 3A state tournament bracket following the results of the semifinal game on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Kenai Volleyball Booster Club
Photo courtesy of the Kenai Volleyball Booster Club The Kenai Central High School varsity volleyball team is named the 2025 3A Volleyball State Championship Tournament, held Nov. 13-15, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. The Kardinals defeated the Nikiski Bulldogs 3-2 in a “rematch” championship game on Saturday, Nov. 15, securing their third state title in the last four years.
